Passphrase.
The second factor for notes: the link travels one road, the phrase travels another, and reading requires both.
A passphrase is an optional secret required in addition to the link. It's normalized, stretched with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations, and mixed into the key derivation — the link alone no longer decrypts anything.
What it is
The link is the key, which makes the channel you send it through part of your security. A passphrase splits that risk in two: email the link, speak the phrase; text the link, hand over the phrase in person. An eavesdropper on either channel alone holds half a secret.
Why it matters
It also survives the worst case gracefully — a link pasted into the wrong chat, forwarded, or logged is unreadable noise to everyone who lacks the phrase, for as long as the note lives.
Related terms
Common questions.
What makes a good note passphrase?
Length beats cleverness — a few random words outperform a punctuated password. And deliver it over a genuinely different channel than the link; a passphrase in the same email adds nothing.
Can I recover a note if the recipient loses the phrase?
No one can — not you, not the developer. Send them the phrase again if you still have it; otherwise burn the note and create a fresh one.
Get BurnPony
Free self-destructing encrypted notes for iPhone. Recipients need only a browser. No accounts, no tracking.