A minimalist open-source pastebin where the server has zero knowledge of pasted data. Content is encrypted and decrypted entirely in the browser using 256-bit AES-GCM before anything touches the server, with the decryption key stored only in the URL fragment.
PrivateBin
Open Source Web Self-Hosted Encrypted
Official website privatebin.info
Our take
The zero-knowledge design is the real thing: the decryption key lives in the URL fragment, which browsers never send to the server, so even a fully cooperative server operator cannot read your paste. Supports burn-after-reading, expiration timers, and optional password protection for a second layer. The self-hosted PHP backend is straightforward to deploy. Worth noting: the server still logs access times and IP addresses for any URL, just not the content. For sharing sensitive text without trusting a third-party service, PrivateBin is the benchmark.
GitHub at a glance
PrivateBin/PrivateBin
Stars
8,390
Last commit
1d ago
healthy
Latest release
2.0.4
2mo ago
Listed in
PrivateBin alternatives
PrivacyNotes Zero-knowledge notes, tasks, and journal secured by a single 12-word recovery phrase, with no email or password required. The crypto core and database schema are published for audit.
paaster An end-to-end encrypted pastebin that encrypts content in the browser using XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2id before upload. The decryption key stays in the URL fragment and never reaches the server, with no opt-out: every paste is always encrypted.