Pastes.io privacy features, without the Pro gate.
Encryption, password mode, burn-after-read, Markdown, and syntax highlighting are free on textdrop.sh. No account, subscription, or Pro toggle required.
Encrypted by default
AES-256-GCM in your browser. Password pastes are zero-knowledge.
No ads. No captchas.
Just paste and share. No accounts, no walls.
No paywalled features
Markdown, burn-after-read, syntax highlighting, expiry — all free.
Pastes.io is a modern pastebin with Markdown, syntax highlighting, and a low-cost Pro plan. The trade-off is that several privacy and retention controls, including password-protected pastes and self-destruct, are paid features. textdrop.sh provides encryption, password-protected zero-knowledge mode, burn-after-read, Markdown, and syntax highlighting without accounts or subscription tiers.
Is Pastes.io free?+
Pastes.io has a free plan with a 1 MB paste limit and basic features. Advanced features like 25 MB pastes, self-destruct (burn-after-read), and no-expiry storage require a Pro subscription at $1/month billed annually. textdrop.sh is entirely free with no subscription tiers.
Is Pastes.io encrypted?+
Pastes.io markets encryption and password-protected pastes, but I did not find public technical documentation describing its encryption algorithm, client-side key handling, or zero-knowledge model. textdrop.sh uses AES-256-GCM client-side encryption where the raw key is never transmitted to the server for password-protected pastes.
Does Pastes.io have burn-after-read?+
Pastes.io offers self-destruct functionality but it is gated behind the Pro subscription. textdrop.sh provides burn-after-read as a free feature for all users, implemented with atomic Lua scripts to prevent race conditions.
Is textdrop.sh a good Pastes.io alternative?+
Yes. textdrop.sh overlaps with several Pastes.io Pro privacy and sharing features: password-protected encrypted pastes, burn-after-read, Markdown, and syntax highlighting, with no subscription, no account, and no feature gates. Pastes.io's API and 25 MB paste limit on Pro are features textdrop.sh doesn't currently offer.
