How to Password-Protect Shared Text or Code
A paste link is readable by anyone who has it — links get forwarded, pasted into group chats, and eventually end up in search results. A password on the paste adds a second lock: someone needs both the link and the password to read the text.
Doing it on pastesite.com
- Paste your text at pastesite.com.
- Type a password in the Password (optional) field.
- Create the paste and send your reader the link and the password — ideally through two different channels (the link in chat, the password spoken or texted).
When your reader opens the link, they see a password box first. Only after typing the right password does the paste content appear. The password itself is never stored — the server keeps only an irreversible scramble of it.
Choosing a share password
- Make it long and unguessable — three or four unrelated words work better than a short password with symbols.
- Never reuse a password from any of your real accounts.
- It's fine to make it disposable: this password only needs to live as long as the paste.
What a password does and doesn't do
A password stops a stranger who stumbles on the link from reading the text. It does not stop the person you sent the password to from sharing it — or from copying the text once they're in. And since the reader's browser must receive the text to display it, this is a convenience lock, not end-to-end encryption. For genuinely sensitive material, the strongest combination is: password plus burn-after-read plus an expiry — and even then, never paste something whose leak would be catastrophic.
Frequently asked questions
How does a password-protected paste work?
The reader must type the correct password before the text is shown. The password itself is never stored — the server keeps only an irreversible hash of it, so even a database leak does not reveal it.
What makes a good share password?
Something long and unguessable that you never reuse from a real account — three or four unrelated words are easier to dictate than a short symbol-heavy password, and safer than one.
Can I share the link and password in the same message?
You can, but sending them through different channels is safer — for example the link in chat and the password by text or spoken. Then intercepting one channel is not enough to read the paste.
Does a password make the paste encrypted?
No. The password is a gate in front of the text; the reader's browser still receives the plain text to display it. It stops strangers with the link, not the person you gave the password to.