Encrypted
paste, or
live note?
NullPaste and ShareNotes look alike on paper: free, no account, text and code, a link at the end. They are built for different jobs. NullPaste is built so its own server cannot read your paste. ShareNotes is built so the note stays alive after you send it — edit it and every viewer sees the change. Pick by the job, not the feature count.
How does ShareNotes compare to NullPaste?
Both tools are free, need no account and handle text and code. NullPaste encrypts every paste in your browser and keeps the key in the link, so its server cannot read what you paste — that is its whole design, and it does it well. ShareNotes does not encrypt notes end-to-end. What it does instead is keep the note live: you can keep editing after you share the link, and everyone viewing sees the changes in real time. ShareNotes also gives you memorable word-based URLs like blue-fox-42, an edit-only PIN mode, and notes up to 10 MB. For secrets, use NullPaste. For a note you will keep working on with someone, use ShareNotes.
A note that keeps working after you send it.
Keep typing after you send the link. Everyone who has it open sees the edit as it happens — a shared scratchpad, not a one-way paste.
Links like calm-river-17 can be read aloud in a meeting or typed on a phone without squinting.
Put a PIN on editing only. Anyone with the link can read; only you can change it. That is what makes classroom mode work.
Pipe a file or a CI log to a shareable URL with curl. No key, no signup, 20 requests a day per IP.
Feature by feature.
NullPaste details are taken from nullpaste.org and its published API documentation, checked October 2026. Where NullPaste's own pages say nothing about a feature, we write not documented rather than assume it is missing.
Where NullPaste is the better pick.
Three honest reasons to choose NullPaste instead.
- You are sharing a secret. NullPaste encrypts in your browser with AES-256-GCM and keeps the key in the URL fragment, which is never sent to its server. ShareNotes does not encrypt end-to-end: links are unguessable and you can add a PIN, but our server can read note contents. For passwords, keys or anything you would not want a server to hold in plain text, NullPaste is the right tool.
- You want it to last, or vanish in minutes. NullPaste offers expiry from 10 minutes up to never. ShareNotes tops out at 7 days from the editor or 30 days through the API, and cleans a note up 7 days after it was last opened.
- You care about what the server logs. NullPaste states that raw IP addresses are never stored and that rate limiting uses a hashed identifier instead. ShareNotes does not publish an equivalent commitment.
These are genuinely different tools. If the paste is sensitive and finished, NullPaste. If it is a working document you will keep changing with someone watching, ShareNotes.
Answers, briefly.
How is ShareNotes different from NullPaste?
They are built for different jobs. NullPaste encrypts every paste end-to-end, with the key kept in the share link so its server cannot read the contents. ShareNotes does not encrypt end-to-end; instead it keeps the note live after sharing, so you can keep editing and everyone viewing sees the changes in real time. ShareNotes also uses memorable word-based URLs and supports notes up to 10 MB. Both are free and need no account.
Is ShareNotes end-to-end encrypted like NullPaste?
No. ShareNotes notes are not end-to-end encrypted, so our server can read note contents. You can add a PIN, set a short timer or make a note view-once, but for genuinely sensitive secrets an end-to-end encrypted tool such as NullPaste is the better choice.
Can I edit a note after sharing it?
On ShareNotes, yes. The link stays live, and anyone viewing sees edits as they happen. Put a PIN on editing if you want viewers to read but not change the note. NullPaste does not document editing a paste after it is created.
Which one has burn after reading?
Both. NullPaste asks the reader to confirm with a click before a burn-after-reading paste is revealed. ShareNotes view-once notes are destroyed on first read, and are not consumed by Slack, iMessage or other link-preview bots.
How long do ShareNotes notes last?
You choose 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days in the Save dialog, or up to 30 days via the API with expiresIn. Left alone, a note is removed 7 days after it was last opened. NullPaste offers longer options, including never expiring.
Do both tools have an API?
Yes, and neither needs an API key. NullPaste's API also supports end-to-end encrypted pastes. The ShareNotes API is documented at /for-developers/ and allows 20 requests a day per IP.