Why Emailing Passwords Is Dangerous
Every developer has done it — pasted a database password into Slack, texted an API key, or emailed credentials to a new team member. It feels fast and convenient. But it is a serious security risk.
When you send a password through email or a messaging app, that credential lives forever in multiple places: your sent folder, the recipient's inbox, cloud backup servers, and provider logs. If any of these get compromised — and breaches happen every day — your credentials are exposed.
The Secure Alternative: Self-Destructing Encrypted Links
VaultSends solves this cleanly:
1. Paste your secret into the web form 2. AES-256-GCM encryption protects it before it hits our servers 3. You get a one-time link — the secret destroys itself after reading 4. Zero knowledge — we store only encrypted ciphertext, never plaintext
What Is AES-256-GCM?
AES-256-GCM (Advanced Encryption Standard, 256-bit key, Galois/Counter Mode) is the gold standard for authenticated encryption. It is mandated by the US Government for top-secret data and used by militaries and financial institutions worldwide.
- 256-bit key = 2²⁵⁶ possible combinations — more than atoms in the observable universe
- GCM mode adds authentication, so your data cannot be read or secretly modified
- PBKDF2-SHA512 at 310,000 iterations makes brute force computationally infeasible
Best Practices for Sharing Passwords in 2025
Do: - Use VaultSends with a passphrase for highly sensitive credentials - Share the link and passphrase via different channels (link over email, passphrase over phone) - Set short expiry — 1 hour or less for production credentials - Enable email notifications so you know when credentials are accessed
Do not: - Email or message passwords in plaintext - Share credentials in public Slack channels - Reuse the same API key for multiple contractors
Start Today
Go to vaultsends.com, paste your next password, and experience the difference. Free forever, no account required.