Web · 2017-12-01

‘Secret’ is free, open-source tool to send encrypted messages that expire – #Startups

If you’re ever interested in keeping your messages private you may be aware that Online services are available that can help you to do just that. ‘Secret’ is an open-source tool that makes it possible to send & receive messages securely using an encrypted link.

Secret sends messages through “a safe, private, & encrypted link that automatically expires to ensure your stuff does not remain online forever.”

According to the project’s creator, Bu Kinoshita, the service was developed to solve a simple, but common, problem.

At times we’re interested in sharing a message when chatting with a colleague or friend, & we don’t want it to live forever on the particular chat platform we’re using.

When you use secret, the tool receives an encrypted copy of the message. The Content of the encrypted message cannot be opened by secret. It’s kept in its encrypted form until someone opens it.

The tool uses the WebCrypto API & the AES-GCM algorithm to do the encrypting/decrypting locally in the browser. The message that gets transferred through the server is always in its encrypted form, so there’s no chance of a 3rd party interception of open text.

The person(s) that you want to be able to access your (secret) message should be provided with the unique link that secret creates for you, as well as the encryption key. Be careful that no one else gets this info or they’ll be able to get at your secret.

You should always make sure that you’re using an up-to-date browser that supports the WebCrypto API. Source code for secret is available on GitHub here. A hosted instance of Secret that you can use is available on the product Site.

 

– This is a startup profile based on publicly available material & not a review – 
 
Image Credit secret

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