What is Protect text?
Protect text is a notepad where every page is locked. It is for the things that should not sit in a plain text file, a sticky note or a cloud notebook: recovery codes, Wi-Fi and router passwords, PINs, card and passport details, client data, private thoughts.
It opens in Chrome's side panel, next to the page you are reading, and looks like a calm paper notepad. Behind the paper, every note is encrypted before it touches the disk, and the notepad locks itself when you walk away.
How does the encryption work?
- When you create the safe, Protect text makes a random 256-bit key. Every note is encrypted with it using AES-256-GCM before it is saved: the title, the text, its color and pin.
- That key is stored only in encrypted form: wrapped with a key derived from your password (PBKDF2-SHA-256, 600,000 rounds, random salt) and, separately, with your recovery key.
- Everything runs in the browser's built-in Web Crypto. There are no external crypto libraries and no server.
- Your password is never stored. While the safe is open, the key lives in memory only and is dropped when the safe locks or the browser closes.
The details and the limits are on the safety page. New to the subject? How to encrypt text in your browser.
Does it really never go online?
Yes. The extension's content security policy blocks every network connection, and it asks for no access to websites. It cannot upload your notes even by mistake. That is also why it works offline: there is nothing to connect to.
The flip side: no sync. Your notes live on one computer. Move them with an encrypted backup file.
What if I forget my password?
When you create the safe, Protect text shows a recovery key once. Write it down on paper or save it as a file somewhere other than this computer. With the recovery key you can open the safe and set a new password. You can also make a new recovery key later in Settings.
Without the password and the recovery key, the notes cannot be decrypted by anyone, including Cresotech. That is the point of encryption, so keep the key safe.
Auto-lock
The safe locks itself:
- after 1, 5 or 15 minutes (the default) or 1 hour without activity, or only when the browser closes, as you choose in Settings;
- when your computer locks or goes to sleep (on by default);
- when you press the lock button.
After a wrong password you have to wait a moment before the next try.
Hidden text and the password generator
- Hidden text. Select a password, a PIN or a card number and press the eye button. It is blurred, so people looking over your shoulder cannot read it. Click it to show or copy it; after a copy, the clipboard is cleared in 30 seconds.
- Password generator. The key button inserts a strong random password, for example when you sign up for a new account and want to note it down.
A real notepad, not just a vault
- Checklists, headings and lists as you type: start a line with
-,1.,[]or#and a space. - Pin notes, give them one of 6 paper colors, search all notes (while the safe is open).
- Trash keeps deleted notes for 30 days, with Undo.
- Add to Protect Text: select text on any page, right-click and save it with a link to the page. If the safe is locked, the clipping waits in memory until you unlock it.
- Day and night themes, 52 languages, and it also opens in a full tab.
Backup and moving to another computer
Open the menu and choose Back up all notes. The file contains your notes encrypted, with the encrypted key; without your password or recovery key it is unreadable. On another computer, install Protect text, choose Import and unlock with the same password.
You can also download one note as a .txt file or print it. Those copies are not encrypted, so use them with care.
How does it compare?
| Protect text | ProtectedText.com | Password manager (Bitwarden, Proton Pass) | Apple Notes locked notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Chrome extension | Website | App and extension | App on Apple devices |
| Account | No | No (address + password) | Yes | Apple device; iCloud to sync |
| Where notes are stored | This computer, encrypted | Their server, encrypted | Their cloud, encrypted | iCloud or the device |
| Works offline | Yes | No | Partly | Yes |
| Sync between devices | No | Yes, by address | Yes | Yes |
| Recovery if you forget the password | Recovery key | No | Depends on the service | No |
| Fills in website logins | No | No | Yes | No |
More: Protect text vs ProtectedText.com · Protect text vs a password manager · secure notes apps compared.
How do I start?
- Add Protect text from the Chrome Web Store and pin it from the puzzle-piece icon.
- Click the icon or press Alt+Shift+P: the notepad opens in the side panel.
- Choose a password and save the recovery key.
- Press + and write your first secret note.
Missing something? Request a feature or tell us what went wrong.
Upgrading from version 3
Version 4 is a new notepad: the side panel, the recovery key, auto-lock, hidden text and the password generator are new. Your old notes come along: after the update, enter the password you used in version 3, and the old encrypted notes move into the new safe.
Product facts
| Developer | Cresotech (PayForSay s. r. o., Slovakia) |
| Version | 4.0, updated 2026-11-11 |
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM, PBKDF2-SHA-256 (600,000 rounds), Web Crypto |
| Storage | Only on your computer, encrypted |
| Network access | None |
| Languages | 52 |
| Works on | Chrome on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS |
| Price | Free |