Messaging is an important form of communication and has become an integral part of our everyday lives. Certain messages are very private to us that we do not want anyone else to know. We might want to send a private note to a friend, family, or spouse, and we don’t want anyone else to see it.

However, it is very easy to hack into a person’s personal data and get access to all their messages. So there are various web services that allow users to send self-destructive messages. These messages, once read, get deleted automatically. Some are:

  • Privnote: this platform offers automatic deletion of messages, without much hassle. The user writes the private note and gets a link to share with the recipient of the message. The link is shared by the sender to the recipient, and he/she gets a mail when the message is opened by the receiver. After opening the message, the link gets automatically destroyed, meaning the receiver cannot read the message a second time. The sender can also specify a time limit for the private note to get destroyed. The receiver can keep the message till that time, after the limit is up, the link gets destroyed. Any unread link sent from Privnote gets automatically deleted after thirty days.

 

  • Burn note: another messaging platform that automatically deletes messages after being read once by the receiver. The sender can set a time limit for how long the receiver can see the message before getting deleted forever. Users of Burn note can send a private note to any person even if they do not have the app installed. Notes send via Burn note, the receiver receives only one line of the message at a time, making it impossible to take

screenshot, as each line disappears before the next line comes in.

 

  • Confide: this app allows recipients of the message to read one word at a time. Each word has a gray block over it. Sliding one’s finger over the block reveals the text message, and when the reader goes to the next word, the previous word again gets blocked by the gray block. It is very difficult to get a screenshot of messages, and even if a snap is taken, the message becomes unviewable. Confide uses industry-standard cryptography, end-to-end encryption, and transport layer security to make messaging private and safe from hackers.

 

  • TMWSD (This Message Will Self Destruct): another easy to messaging platform. It deletes the message as soon as it is read by the receiver. The user simply needs to type the message, give a password to the message, tick the accept terms which should be read before ticking, and then click the save button. Another page will open, and the name and email of the recipient need to be given. The message can be sent to more than one person by adding a new URL with an additional note. This platform also allows access to the message history.

 

  • es: similar to Privnote, the user simply has to type in or paste the message in the box. A drop-down option appears, allowing setting the expiration date of the message (30 minutes to 3 days), within which if isn’t read, the private note gets deleted. After clicking the create button, a URL and copy button appears, to send the link to the receiver.