End-to-end encryption.
Sealed on your phone, opened in their browser. Everything in between carries ciphertext it cannot read.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is encryption where only the endpoints can access the plaintext. In BurnPony the endpoints are your iPhone, which seals the note, and the recipient's browser, which unseals it — not the relay, not the developer, not the network.
What it is
Transport encryption (HTTPS) protects the pipe but the server still reads what arrives. End-to-end encryption removes the server from the trusted set: a breach of the relay yields sealed envelopes, salts, and timestamps — not notes.
Why it matters
BurnPony's twist on the usual E2EE story is key delivery: instead of exchanging keys between installed apps, the key rides in the link's fragment, so any browser becomes a capable endpoint without an account or an app.
Related terms
Common questions.
Does E2EE hide who is talking to whom?
It hides content, not every pattern. BurnPony minimizes the rest — no accounts, random note IDs, short-lived hashed rate-limit records — but like any server, the relay sees connecting IP addresses at the network level while serving a request.
Can the developer read my note if compelled?
No. The relay holds ciphertext and never receives the key. What doesn't exist can't be produced — and after the last view, even the ciphertext is gone.
Get BurnPony
Free self-destructing encrypted notes for iPhone. Recipients need only a browser. No accounts, no tracking.