Paste & Purge Privacy Policy
At Paste & Purge, our architecture is built around a fundamental commitment: we cannot read, share, or sell your secrets because we never possess your decryption keys or plaintext data. This policy explains what minimal data we collect, how it is handled, and your privacy choices.
1. Zero Plaintext Architecture
When you compose a secret (up to 10,000 characters) on Paste & Purge:
- Local Client-Side Encryption: Your text is encrypted locally in your browser memory using AES-256-GCM via the standard Web Crypto API before being transmitted to our servers.
- No Server Plaintext: Unencrypted plaintext is never transmitted over the network, never buffered in server memory, and never written to our database.
- URL Hash Fragment Isolation: For standard links, the generated 256-bit decryption key resides strictly in the URL hash fragment (the portion after the
#symbol). Under RFC 3986 specifications, web browsers never include the fragment identifier in HTTP request headers. Consequently, our servers never receive the decryption key. - Optional Passphrase Protection: If you specify an optional password, the key is derived in your browser using PBKDF2 with 600,000 iterations and a 16-byte random salt. The password is never sent to the server.
2. Ephemeral Storage & Automatic Purging
The only secret-related information stored on our servers is minimal, temporary ciphertext data:
- Opaque AES-256-GCM ciphertext bytes
- 12-byte initialization vector (IV)
- PBKDF2 salt & iterations (if password-protected)
- Expiration UNIX timestamp
- Maximum and remaining view counts
- Plaintext message or credential text
- Encryption or decryption keys
- User passwords or passphrases
- Sender or recipient personal identities
- Chat logs or account profiles
Permanent Purging: When the authorized view quota is reached (e.g., 1 view) or when the chosen expiration duration (5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 24 hours) passes, the database document is permanently deleted through atomic database operations. An automated background worker regularly purges expired records that were never retrieved. Once purged, the data cannot be retrieved by anyone.
3. Technical Server Logs & Security Measures
Like virtually all web services, our web hosting servers automatically process standard technical HTTP connection details when your browser communicates with our API:
- IP Addresses: Used in volatile memory to enforce strict API rate limiting (to prevent automated abuse, brute-force attacks, and denial-of-service) and operational diagnostics.
- Request Headers: Browser User-Agent and HTTP status codes are processed for debugging server performance.
- No Secret Correlating: Server logs do not contain user secrets, URLs with hash fragments, or decryption keys.
4. Cookies, Local Storage & Analytics
Paste & Purge does not use cookies for authentication, session tracking, or secret creation. Here is our complete use of client storage:
Client Storage Disclosures
- paste_purge_consent (localStorage): Stores your privacy consent banner selection (
"granted"or"denied"). - Session/Authentication Cookies: None. You do not log in.
Google Analytics Status: Paste & Purge does not currently collect analytics using Google Analytics, nor are any tracking scripts or measurement IDs loaded on this site. While privacy-preserving parameter sanitization and Google Consent Mode v2 architecture are maintained in our codebase for strict containment if ever activated in the future, analytics collection is not enabled. No first-party tracking or analytics cookies are set.
5. Advertising Disclosures (Google AdSense)
Paste & Purge displays advertisements provided by Google AdSense (Publisher ID: ca-pub-8152470473526995) on public educational and promotional pages to help support the free availability of the service.
- Third-Party Cookies: Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites on the internet.
- Advertising Cookies: Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our site and/or other sites on the internet.
- User Ad Choices & Opt-Out: Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
- Recipient / Reveal Page Isolation: We do not run advertising scripts or ad units on the secret retrieval/reveal pages, ensuring that sensitive recipient decryption workflows remain uncluttered and private.
- Consent Frameworks: We provide a consent banner to record analytics preferences and respect browser privacy controls. As traffic expands in various international jurisdictions (including the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom), we will continue evaluating and updating our Consent Management Platform (CMP) implementations to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable local frameworks.
6. Third-Party Links & Infrastructure Providers
Our website is hosted on secure cloud infrastructure that provides network transit, DDoS mitigation, and database services. These providers process encrypted ciphertext strictly on our behalf to operate the web service. Our educational articles may contain links to external reference documentation; we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.
7. Data Retention & User Rights
Because we do not store personal profiles, customer accounts, or unencrypted user content:
- Automatic Erasure: All encrypted secret payloads are deleted automatically and permanently upon fulfillment of the view limit or expiration time.
- No Lingering Profiles: There are no user profiles, email lists, or marketing databases to export or purge.
- Inquiries: If you have questions regarding data privacy under GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, or other regulations, contact us using the details below.
8. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect modifications to our architectural features, statutory requirements, or advertising practices. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.
Contact Regarding Privacy
Questions or inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy or our zero-knowledge architecture may be directed to our designated domain contact address: support@pasteandpurge.com. You can also review our technical implementation details in the Security Architecture or visit our Contact & Support page.