Step-by-step instructions, written clearly. Follow along at your own pace.
Open your browser and type privnote.com directly into the address bar. Please take a moment to verify the address — there are imitation sites that look identical. The official address is exactly privnote.com, nothing more, nothing less.
Click in the large text area and type or paste your message. Privnote works with plain text only — there is no formatting, no bold or italic, no images, no attachments. Just words. The text area is generous and will hold as much text as you need for most purposes.
Click "Show options" to reveal additional settings. You can add a password (strongly recommended for sensitive information), set an expiration time (1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days), and provide your email address to receive a notification when the note is read. These are optional but thoughtful additions.
Click "Create note." Your note is encrypted in your browser and uploaded to Privnote's servers. After a moment, you will see a page with a unique link — this is the link you will share with the recipient.
This is the most important step. Copy the link without clicking it. If you click the link, the note will be destroyed immediately and the recipient will not be able to read it. Use the "Select link" button to highlight it, then copy it to your clipboard. Send it to the recipient via email, text, or any other channel.
If you set a password: Send the password through a completely different channel than the link. For example, email the link and call the recipient with the password.
When someone sends you a Privnote link, open it only when you are ready to read and save the content. Once you open it, the note will be displayed and then permanently deleted. You will not be able to open the link again.
If the note contains information you need to keep — a password, an account number, instructions — copy it or write it down before closing the browser tab. Once the tab is closed, the information is gone. There is no way to retrieve it.
If you open the link and see a message saying the note has been destroyed or cannot be found, it means someone else has already opened it — possibly the sender by accident. Contact the sender and ask them to create a new note.