What the recipient sees
Your message, and that’s it. The page shows the text, any file you attached, when it was created and when it will vanish. There is no sender name, no email address, no profile picture and no account behind it. The page that shows your message also loads no ads and no analytics.
When they open a self-destructing message, the recipient first sees a page saying it will self-destruct, then presses “Show message”. After that single read, the link shows nothing but a note that the message is gone.
What you never have to give us
- No account, username or password.
- No email address.
- No phone number.
- No name, and no payment details.
You open the page, write, and get a link. That’s the whole process.
Keep it anonymous in practice
TxtVanish doesn’t attach your identity to the message, but what you write can still give you away. A few habits make a real difference:
- Leave out signatures and sign-offs, and anything only you would know.
- Check files before attaching them. Documents can carry an author name, and photos taken on a phone often carry the location where they were taken. Remove that information, or take a screenshot of the photo and send that instead.
- Think about how the link travels. If you send it from your own chat account or email address, the recipient knows who sent the link, even though the message page doesn’t say.
- Watch your writing style if the recipient knows you well: favourite phrases and emoji are as recognisable as a name.
Make it disappear
For a note that shouldn’t hang around, keep the expiry at 1 view. For something a few people should read, pick a time limit such as 1 day. Either way, your sender link lets you delete the message early, and shows whether and when it has been opened.
Good reasons people send text anonymously
- Honest feedback to a manager, a teacher or a team, without it turning into a conversation about who said it.
- A heads-up to a neighbour or a group about a problem, without starting a thread with your name on it.
- Handing someone details, such as a code or an address, without adding them to your contacts or giving out your number.
Our terms still apply: anonymous doesn’t mean anything goes, and harassment or threats aren’t allowed.