Visibility answers who can discover a link; it does not automatically answer who can read storage. Use this comparison to separate discovery, application access, encryption, and expiration before choosing a reassuring label.
Public and unlisted control discovery
A public paste may appear in the limited Explore collection and is not editorially endorsed. An unlisted paste is omitted from public discovery, but anyone holding its random URL can open it. Both remain server-readable unless encryption is selected.
Owner-only and passworded control application access
Owner-only content is returned only to the creating signed-in account. A password-protected paste asks any recipient for a separate shared secret. These checks restrict delivery but do not make conventional stored content zero knowledge.
Practical next step: Security model - Read the full threat and limitation model.
Encrypted changes stored content
Encrypted mode creates an AES-GCM key in the browser and uploads ciphertext. The key is placed after the hash sign in the URL, which normal HTTP requests do not transmit. Anyone with the complete link can decrypt, so distribution still matters.
Expiration is a separate retention choice
Every visibility model still needs a retention decision. Expiration ends future source-link access, while burn-after-read is intended for one deliberate retrieval. Neither control removes copies already made by a recipient.
Mode
| Mode | Discovery | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Eligible for curated discovery | Server-readable; link opens without another check. |
| Unlisted | Not shown publicly | Server-readable; the URL is the access path. |
| Owner-only | Not public | Returned only to the creating signed-in account. |
| Passworded | Not public | Requires a shared password; storage remains readable. |
| Encrypted | Not public | Storage receives ciphertext; complete URL contains the key. |
Primary sources and further reading
These references support the standards and implementation concepts used in Public vs unlisted vs private pastes. Product behavior is checked separately against Pastebin.ai.