cinderpaste vs Pastebin
Pastebin is the classic place to drop a block of text, but it stores that text in plaintext and wraps it in ads and accounts. cinderpaste is an encrypted pastebin alternative and zero-knowledge paste where the server never sees what you paste. Here's how the two compare on privacy.
| Feature | cinderpaste | Pastebin |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encryption | Yes | No |
| Zero-knowledge storage | Yes | No |
| Burn after reading | Yes | No |
| Password protection | Yes | Yes |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Ads | No | Yes |
| Data mining | No | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Price | Free | Free / paid tiers |
The verdict
If you're posting public code snippets and want a permanent URL, Pastebin is fine. But for anything private — passwords, keys, personal notes — cinderpaste is the more private choice: it encrypts in the browser, burns after reading, shows no ads, and asks for no account.
Common questions
- Is Pastebin encrypted?
- Standard public and unlisted pastes are stored in plaintext, so the operator can read them. cinderpaste encrypts every paste in the browser before it's uploaded.
- Can I use cinderpaste like Pastebin for code?
- Yes — paste your snippet and share the link. The difference is that it's encrypted and can be set to expire or burn, rather than living publicly forever.
- Does cinderpaste show ads?
- No. There are no ads, trackers, or accounts, and nothing about your paste is mined or monetized.
- Is there a paste history?
- No. Without accounts there's no profile or history — a paste exists only until it expires or is burned, then it's gone.
- Which should I use for a one-time secret?
- cinderpaste, with burn after reading turned on. The recipient opens it once and it self-destructs, which a plaintext pastebin can't offer.