Terms of service

Last changed October 26, 2026. These are the rules for using cipher.ink. By using the site you agree to them. If you don't, please don't use it.

Who runs it

cipher.ink is run by B Klug. You can reach us at support@cipher.ink or through the contact form. Email isn't encrypted, so keep secrets out of it.

What the service is

cipher.ink lets you write a message or attach files, seal them in your browser and send someone a link. The server stores only the sealed version and removes it when the message ends. It also offers a Secret Santa draw and a library of articles and tools. How it works explains the design, and the privacy policy says what we keep.

The encryption happens on your device. We can't read your messages, and we can't recover one if you lose the passphrase or the link.

Using it

Use cipher.ink for lawful purposes only. You may not use it to:

• send or store anything illegal, including child sexual abuse material;
• send malware, or run phishing or other scams;
• harass, threaten or stalk anyone;
• break or overload the service, scrape it in bulk, or get around its limits.

We can't read messages, but we can end one. If you think a message shouldn't be here, send its address (the part up to the #) through the contact form, and we'll remove it. We may remove any message or block any connection that breaks these rules, without notice.

Your content, and ours

What you seal is yours. We keep only what's needed to deliver it, and you give us permission to store and hand over the sealed data for exactly that. We claim no rights in it. You are responsible for what you send.

The app's code is open source under the AGPL-3.0 (see github.com/dustball/cipher.ink). The articles, tools, puzzles, images and the cipher.ink name and logo are ours, and you may link to and quote them, but not republish them as your own.

No promise a message is destroyed everywhere

Burn after reading and expiry delete a message from our server. They can't control what a reader does with it: a screenshot, a photo of the screen or a copied paragraph stays with them. That is what no website can promise. The Secret Santa draw is offered as it is, and an organizer who tampers with their own browser can see the pairs.

Payments

Nothing on cipher.ink costs money today. If a paid plan is offered, its price, in USD, is shown before you pay.

Payments are processed by Stripe. Card details go straight to Stripe and never reach our servers. Charges appear on your statement as CIPHER.INK.

Refunds

Nothing on cipher.ink costs money today. If that changes, these rules apply to any paid plan.

Refunds. All payments are final. We do not give refunds, including for unused time or a part of a billing period, except where the law requires one. If you were charged twice, or charged when you should not have been, write to support@cipher.ink and we will correct it.

Cancelling

Nothing on cipher.ink costs money today. If that changes, these rules apply to any paid plan.

Cancelling. You can cancel a paid plan at any time, from the link in your receipt or by writing to support@cipher.ink. Cancelling stops the next renewal. Your plan keeps working until the end of the period you have already paid for, then it ends, and you are not charged again. There is no cancellation fee. Before a yearly plan renews, we email you at least 7 days ahead. Every charge sends you a receipt. We may end a paid plan if it is used against these terms; if we end one for any other reason, we refund the unused part.

No warranty, and limits on liability

cipher.ink is provided as it is, with no promise that it will always be available, error-free or fit for a particular purpose. Messages expire and servers fail, so don't keep the only copy of something important here.

To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for lost messages, lost access, or any indirect or consequential loss from using the site. Nothing here limits a right the law says you must keep.

Ending access

There are no accounts, so there's nothing to close. You can stop using the site at any time. We may block access, or end the service or any part of it, at any time, for example if these rules are broken.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of the State of Missouri, USA.

Changes

If these terms change in a way that matters, we will say so on the site. The date at the top shows when they last changed.