[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":167},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-/en/blog/self-destructing-message":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"alternate_path":6,"author":7,"body":8,"date":156,"description":157,"draft":158,"extension":159,"locale":160,"meta":161,"navigation":162,"path":163,"seo":164,"stem":165,"__hash__":166},"blog/blog/self-destructing-message.md","Self-destructing messages: why a one-time link is safer","/blog/message-auto-destructible","Rémy Sainsard",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":148},"minimark",[11,20,23,28,35,38,51,58,62,77,95,98,102,116,123,127,139,142],[12,13,14,15,19],"p",{},"A ",[16,17,18],"strong",{},"self-destructing message"," is text the recipient can read only once. After it is opened, it is gone: no copy left on the server, no second look through the same link.",[12,21,22],{},"That matters as soon as you send a secret — a password, a Wi-Fi code, an API key, a 2FA recovery code — and you do not want it sitting in a Slack thread, an email, or a WhatsApp backup.",[24,25,27],"h2",{"id":26},"why-chat-and-email-keep-your-secrets","Why chat and email keep your secrets",[12,29,30,31,34],{},"WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Teams and Gmail are built to ",[16,32,33],{},"keep"," messages. Even a so-called ephemeral message often lives on in history, an admin archive, a cloud backup, or the recipient’s phone.",[12,36,37],{},"Once you send the plaintext, you lose control:",[39,40,41,45,48],"ul",{},[42,43,44],"li",{},"a Slack admin can read a private conversation;",[42,46,47],{},"an email is copied across servers and “Sent” folders;",[42,49,50],{},"a screenshot or a search in the thread can surface the secret months later.",[12,52,53,54,57],{},"The risk is not only interception in transit. It is the ",[16,55,56],{},"copy that stays",".",[24,59,61],{"id":60},"how-a-one-time-link-works","How a one-time link works",[12,63,64,65,72,73,76],{},"With ",[66,67,71],"a",{"href":68,"rel":69},"https://secretshare.eu",[70],"nofollow","Secret Share",", you do not paste the secret into the chat. You create a ",[16,74,75],{},"one-time link",":",[78,79,80,83,86,92],"ol",{},[42,81,82],{},"The text is encrypted in the browser (AES-256). The server never receives the message in plaintext.",[42,84,85],{},"The decryption key travels in the URL, not in our database.",[42,87,88,89,57],{},"The recipient opens the link, reads the secret, then the encrypted payload is ",[16,90,91],{},"deleted",[42,93,94],{},"Opening the same link again returns nothing.",[12,96,97],{},"Even if the Slack thread or email that holds the link is found later, the secret is no longer readable.",[24,99,101],{"id":100},"when-to-use-a-self-destructing-message","When to use a self-destructing message",[39,103,104,107,110,113],{},[42,105,106],{},"share an office or Airbnb Wi-Fi password;",[42,108,109],{},"pass a login during onboarding;",[42,111,112],{},"hand over an API key or token until it is stored in a password manager;",[42,114,115],{},"send a 2FA recovery code without leaving it in WhatsApp.",[12,117,118,119,57],{},"For passwords specifically, see ",[66,120,122],{"href":121},"/en/blog/how-to-share-a-password-securely","how to share a password securely",[24,124,126],{"id":125},"in-practice","In practice",[12,128,129,130,134,135,138],{},"Write the secret on ",[66,131,133],{"href":68,"rel":132},[70],"secretshare.eu",", copy the link, and send ",[16,136,137],{},"only the link"," on whatever channel you already use. Never paste the secret next to the link in the same message: that puts a permanent copy back in the chat you were trying to avoid.",[12,140,141],{},"——",[12,143,144,145,57],{},"To create a self-destructing message: ",[66,146,133],{"href":68,"rel":147},[70],{"title":149,"searchDepth":150,"depth":150,"links":151},"",2,[152,153,154,155],{"id":26,"depth":150,"text":27},{"id":60,"depth":150,"text":61},{"id":100,"depth":150,"text":101},{"id":125,"depth":150,"text":126},"2026-10-14","WhatsApp, Slack and email keep your secrets around. A self-destructing one-time link limits the leak after it is read.",false,"md","en",{},true,"/blog/self-destructing-message",{"title":5,"description":157},"blog/self-destructing-message","Nsi7cKyZ_YdE1qHcEh4SdQ6ujzSY9GEk_Kw2jXoEnuk",1793087691547]