New Service: Burn After Reading (BAR)!
Today we are excited to announce Burn After Reading (BAR) as the latest addition to the Start9 Service Marketplace! You can view the source code here.
Check out the hosted demo
http://burrrrn6i4g4feosxlliwgfn5ocdznkxxkcfu5ftnwyzxk7fdbwfibyd.onion/
*requires using a Tor-enabled browser
Overview
In discussing which service to launch next on the Marketplace, we became determined to launch something that embodied the concept of sovereign privacy, because that is what the EmbassyOS offers. Not the “we value your privacy”, permissioned, contingent, custodial bullshit privacy you get from Apple, Google, Facebook, and all the rest — but rather — a true, unshakable, unbreakable privacy that I take for myself — a privacy that cannot be commandeered by anyone, for any reason, no matter how powerful they are.
This means client-side encryption, network layer encryption, onion routing, open-source software, and self-hosting, all without compromise — but also easy enough for anyone to use, otherwise what is the point? EmbassyOS accomplishes this, but we needed a service that would highlight it, really drive the point home and act as a 💡moment.
The answer was…a secret. What could represent the concept of privacy better than the ability to share a secret? It could be a love note, a treasure map, a private photo or video, or it could be sensitive financial or medical information — but a secret; a piece of private information intended for its recipient and no one else. And we mean no one. Have you ever seen the movie where the rich lord removes a secret letter from a wax-sealed envelope, reads it beneath the candlelight, and then burns the letter in the fire? That. That is what we wanted for everyone.
And so we set out to find the world’s best self-hosted, open-source, secret-sharing (pastebin) service and add it to the Marketplace. Unfortunately, despite the wealth of the open-source software ecosystem, no existing pastebin service lived up to our standards of performance, security, and user experience. So we built it ourselves.
BAR
Burn After Reading, created by Start9’s own Aaron Greenspan and Aiden McClelland, is a simple, fast, standalone pastebin service that uses Tor V3 ephemeral links to share encrypted messages and files that are destroyed (burned) after they are viewed. Like all services on the Embassy, BAR is self-hosted on its own Tor V3 Hidden Service with data stored directly on your device. The experience is not only private and secure; it is sovereign. There are no trusted 3rd parties. And thanks to the Embassy and EmbassyOS…anyone can do it.
Instructions
- Ensure you are running EmbassyOS ≥ 0.2.7.
- Install Burn After Reading from the Start9 Service Marketplace.
- Navigate to your unique Burn After Reading Tor Address (.onion URL) from any Tor-enabled browser.
That’s it! You can now share encrypted messages or files with anyone you want simply by sharing a one-time link.
