Abuse and safety

How to report a paste

Include the paste URL, a short description of the problem, and any evidence or context that helps the operator confirm the issue (screenshots, decoded payloads, references to known indicators, the section of the paste that is problematic).

For encrypted pastes, include the decrypted plaintext or a description of what you read, if you have the decryption key and want the operator to evaluate the content. The operator generally cannot decrypt these pastes on their own. The in-product report button can also attach a non-reversible SimHash fingerprint computed from your local plaintext.

Do not include unrelated personal information about third parties beyond what is needed to evaluate the report.

Urgent safety issues

Email abuse@pastebin.ca and mark the subject URGENT for: child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or sexual exploitation of minors; credible threats of violence or self-harm; doxxing or release of private personal data; live phishing campaigns or malware drops; exposed credentials, API keys, or private keys that are being actively abused.

CSAM and apparent sexual exploitation of minors are reported to the appropriate Canadian authorities and removed on detection.

Encrypted paste limitations

End-to-end and recipient-addressed encrypted pastes are stored as ciphertext. The operator does not hold the decryption key and cannot generally inspect their contents.

Reports about encrypted content usually need reporter-provided evidence (plaintext, a SimHash fingerprint of plaintext, screenshots, or a description of what the reporter decrypted). Metadata, access patterns, abuse signals, and legal notices may still inform enforcement.

Copyright notices

Copyright notices are handled under Canada's notice-and-notice regime. A notice must include the information required by section 41.25 of the Canadian Copyright Act: the complainant's name and address; identification of the work; identification of the alleged infringement; the location data (URL) of the alleged infringement; the date and time of the alleged infringement; and any other information prescribed by regulation.

Notices that include settlement demands, payment demands, or demands for personal information may be rejected or ignored to the extent permitted by law. Canada's notice-and-notice process is not the same as the U.S. DMCA takedown process; the operator does not act as a takedown adjudicator under that regime.

Regardless of any notice, the operator may remove or restrict access to allegedly infringing content at its discretion. Send notices to abuse@pastebin.ca with the subject COPYRIGHT.

Law enforcement requests

Law enforcement requests should come from an official agency address or domain and include valid legal process under Canadian law (or a recognized international equivalent). Send requests to abuse@pastebin.ca with the subject LE REQUEST.

Emergency requests where there is credible alleged imminent harm may be considered without full legal process to the extent permitted by law. Include agency identification, a callback contact, the nature of the emergency, and the specific paste IDs or URLs involved.

The operator may require additional information, may decline overbroad requests, and may notify affected users unless prohibited by law.

Mistakes and appeals

If a paste or account was restricted by mistake, email abuse@pastebin.ca with the URL or account handle and a brief description of what should be reconsidered. The operator will review when available. Reinstatement is not guaranteed.

If you believe a removal violated Canadian law or these terms, you may also raise the issue at legal@pastebin.ca.

What this service does not do

The operator does not proactively review every paste, does not guarantee any specific response time, does not guarantee removal of content that exists in third-party caches or copies, and cannot recover client-side encrypted content for which the keys are lost.

Contact

Abuse, takedown, copyright, and law-enforcement: abuse@pastebin.ca. Privacy: privacy@pastebin.ca. Legal: legal@pastebin.ca.