If you’ve ever worried about someone holding on to a private email or text you’ve sent them, then you aren’t alone. A developer named Jacob Robbins decided to build a service to cater to those who want to keep their conversations private forever. Today, Burn Note has officially launched, and all of your messages will self-destruct after they’re read.
When you send someone a message using Burn Note, you can chose how long it takes for the message to blow up after the person has opened it. Be sure to give them enough time to read it though, because once it’s gone, it’s gone.
The email that gets sent gives the person you’re sending a note to a link to visit the site, so none of the private message is disclosed via email. Even if what you’re talking about isn’t top secret, this is a neat way to ensure that your message doesn’t get forwarded or saved for years. Sure, the person could take a screenshot or copy and paste the message, but let’s assume they won’t.
The message creation screen is quite simple, with focus on a short message. Additionally you can set a password for super secure messages:
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As soon as the message is opened, the timer starts. If your friend can’t read fast enough, they’re out of luck. I’ve been using this in Beta for a few weeks, and it’s a pretty awesome service.
Also, any messages that aren’t opened for 72 hours are automatically deleted as well. This is all extremely reminiscent of movies like Mission : Impossible, where spies get topical messages about their next plan and whatever sent the message explodes. While nothing physically explodes with Burn Note, the effect of it being trashed for good is still kind of cool.
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