Create the note as usual.
Views, expiry, and any passphrase work exactly the same — the QR code is just another way to hand over the link.
// guide / share-with-a-qr-code
How to share with a QR code.
For handoffs in the same room, skip the network entirely: the full link — key and all — moves from your screen to their camera, touching no channel in between.
// at a glance
- Create the note
- Show the QR code
- They scan it with their camera
- They reveal it in their browser
Prerequisites
- You and the recipient in the same place
Show the code.
Open the note's QR code on your screen. It encodes the complete link, including the #fragment key.
Have them scan it.
Any camera app on any modern phone reads it and offers to open the link in the browser. No app install, no typing a long URL.
They reveal the note.
The viewer opens, they tap Reveal, and the note decrypts locally on their device.
Verify it worked.
- Their browser opens straight to the viewer page.
- The note reveals normally and consumes a view.
- Nothing about the note travelled over email, chat, or SMS.
Common questions.
Why use a QR code instead of just sending the link?
Every channel you send a link through is a place the link exists. An in-person scan means the key moves screen-to-camera with no chat log, mail server, or clipboard in between.
Can someone else photograph the QR code?
Anyone who captures the code holds the link — treat a displayed code like the displayed secret it is. Show it deliberately, then put the screen away.
Does a passphrase still make sense with QR?
For in-person handoffs it's usually unnecessary, but it composes fine: they scan the code, you tell them the phrase.
Next steps.
Get BurnPony
Free self-destructing encrypted notes for iPhone. In development — leave your address for exactly one email on launch day.