Complete walkthrough from zero to expert. Follow each step in order.
Open your browser and type privnote.com directly into the address bar. Verify the domain carefully — phishing clones exist. You should see a clean page with a large text area. No login screen, no registration form.
Click inside the text area and type or paste your message. Privnote supports plain text only — no formatting, no attachments, no images. The text area accepts large amounts of text, suitable for passwords, instructions, multi-paragraph notes, or code.
Click "Show options" to reveal advanced settings: expiration time (1h/24h/7d/30d), manual password, notification email, and reference name. For any sensitive note, at minimum set a password and enable notifications.
The note is encrypted client-side in your browser before being uploaded. After 1-2 seconds, you will see a new page with your unique note URL. This is the only time you will see this link.
Use the "Select link" button or manually select the URL. Copy it to your clipboard. Do not click the link. Clicking it destroys the note. Send the copied link to your recipient via your preferred channel.
Add a password in the options panel. The recipient must enter this password to decrypt the note. Always send the password via a different channel than the link. This two-channel approach is the most effective security practice for Privnote.
Set notes to auto-expire after 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days regardless of whether they are read. Useful for time-sensitive information or to ensure notes do not linger indefinitely on Privnote's servers.
Enter your email to receive an alert when the note is opened and destroyed. Useful for confirming delivery and detecting unauthorized access. If you receive a notification unexpectedly early, treat the information as potentially compromised.
Add a reference name to label the note in your notification email. Useful when sending multiple notes to different recipients. The reference name is not visible to the recipient.
You now know everything needed to use Privnote effectively. For troubleshooting common issues, see our Troubleshooting Guide. For security best practices, see our Security Deep Dive.