Frequently Asked Questions

PasteRelay lets you open the same clipboard in two browsers without installing an app. Use rooms for text and small files, or Quick Secrets for browser-encrypted text with a view limit and expiration. Anyone with an unprotected room link can access its content.

PasteRelay is a secure, temporary shared clipboard that works on any device. It lets you quickly move text, code, or files between devices without installing apps or creating accounts. We also offer "Quick Secrets" for sharing sensitive information with zero-knowledge encryption.

Anyone who needs to transfer text between devices—developers, IT professionals, help desk staff, or everyday users. It's especially useful when you need to copy a snippet from your phone to your laptop, share a password with a coworker, or send sensitive data without it lingering in chat history.

Yes, PasteRelay is completely free to use. No sign-up required for basic features. Logged-in users get additional features like custom room URLs and extended expiration times.

No. You can create rooms and secrets without an account. An optional free account adds custom room links, durations of 7, 30, or 90 days or no expiration, and My Rooms to find, reopen, and delete rooms you create while signed in across devices. Email signups require verification before creating custom links. Existing guest rooms are not automatically added to your account.

Click "Create my clipboard" on the homepage. You'll get a unique link that you can open on any device. Anyone with that link can add or view clips in the room.

Choose an expiration in the room creation form. A room set to Never expires stays available until deleted; do not choose that option for a temporary transfer.

Anyone with the room link can access it. For extra security, you can set an optional password when creating the room. Room IDs are randomly generated and hard to guess.

Files up to 20MB can be shared in rooms. For larger files, we recommend using a dedicated file sharing service.

No. Once a room expires, it is unavailable through PasteRelay and cannot be recovered. Its uploaded files are queued for server deletion. Cleanup runs every 15 minutes, with failed removals retried; service failures can delay deletion. Copies already downloaded or saved by recipients remain outside PasteRelay’s control.

Quick Secrets are one-time, encrypted messages designed for sharing sensitive information like passwords, API keys, or private notes. They're encrypted in your browser before being stored, and can be set to self-destruct after a specific number of views.

Your secret is encrypted in your browser using AES-256 before it ever leaves your device. The encryption key is placed in the URL fragment (the part after #), which is never sent to our server. We only store the encrypted blob—we cannot read your secrets.

No. We use zero-knowledge encryption. The decryption key exists only in the URL you share. Without that key, the encrypted data on our server is meaningless.

You can configure secrets to automatically delete after 1, 2, 5, or 10 views. Once the view limit is reached, the secret is permanently destroyed.

Yes. You can optionally add a second password that the recipient must enter. This provides two layers of encryption: the URL key and the password.

Quick Secrets use AES encryption in your browser. Shared rooms and uploaded files do not have the same end-to-end encryption guarantees. Use Quick Secrets for private text instead of an ordinary room.

PasteRelay uses aggregate service counters and may use Google Analytics on public pages when configured. Room records can include a creator account identifier. Hosting providers may process technical request data. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Expiration ends access to the room. Server cleanup runs every 15 minutes to remove expired room records and process uploaded-file deletions, retrying failed removals. Cleanup is not instantaneous and service failures can delay it. When a room is manually deleted, previously issued download links can remain usable for up to two minutes. Deletion cannot erase text or files someone has already copied, downloaded, or saved.

The core encryption logic runs in your browser and can be inspected using your browser's developer tools. We encourage security-conscious users to verify our client-side encryption implementation.

PasteRelay stores the content needed to provide the service. Quick Secret text is encrypted in your browser; ordinary room content and uploaded files have different protections. We do not claim a compliance certification. Read the Privacy Policy before deciding whether the service meets your requirements.

Quick Secrets with zero-knowledge encryption are suitable for passwords, API keys, and moderately sensitive data. For highest-security needs (classified information, medical records), we recommend dedicated enterprise solutions with audit trails and compliance certifications.

PasteRelay does not offer recovery for expired rooms. Save any content you need before the room expires.

Try increasing your screen brightness, moving closer to the camera, or manually copying the room URL. The URL is displayed below the QR code.

PasteRelay limits each file to 20MB. For larger files, use a dedicated file sharing service and share the download link via PasteRelay if needed.

The secret either reached its view limit and was burned, or it expired based on the time limit set when created. Secrets cannot be recovered once destroyed.