Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is HashBin.org?
HashBin.org is a content distribution platform that uses 256t hash-based addressing. Content is identified and accessed using cryptographic hashes, making it content-addressable, verifiable, and permanent. We operate on a "pay-to-publish, free-to-download" model.
What is a 256t hash?
A 256t hash is a cryptographic identifier generated from your content using SHA-512 and encoded in Base64URL format. It's deterministic (same content always produces the same hash), verifiable (anyone can confirm the hash matches the content), and URL-safe.
Do I need an account to download content?
Downloads require no account or payment from the reader. Anyone with a 256t hash can retrieve its content while the file has prepaid allowance. Paid storage includes an allowance; extra bandwidth can be prepaid to keep popular files available.
Uploads
What file types can I upload?
You can upload any file type. HashBin.org treats all content as binary data and doesn't inspect or process file contents. The maximum file size is 90 MB.
What happens if I upload duplicate content?
If content with the same hash already exists, it isn't stored a second time. Uploading it adds the retention period you chose to the existing copy's expiration date, charged at the normal rate.
How long is content retained?
When uploading, you choose a retention duration in whole calendar months, from 1 month up to 10 years at a time on the upload page. Presets include 1 month, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. Content will be deleted after expiration unless retention is extended.
Can I extend retention after uploading?
Yes. Open the content from My Uploads and use Extend Retention. Extensions are added in whole months to the current expiration date and are charged from your balance based on file size and duration.
Can I delete content before expiration?
Yes. The account that uploaded content can delete it at any time with
DELETE /api/content/{cid}. Deletion is permanent, is not refunded, and is recorded on the public records page.
How do I report content that infringes my rights or breaks the law?
Use the report form, or the "Report this content" link on any content's info page. Reported content is blocked (HTTP 451) while an administrator reviews the report. The report and its evidence are public on the disputes page; your contact details are not. Unresolved reports expire after 30 days.
Payments & Pricing
How much does storage cost?
Storage costs $0.03 per GB per month. For example, storing a 90 MB file for 1 year costs $0.04: about 3.2 cents, rounded up to the next cent. Use our pricing calculator to estimate costs for your use case.
How do I add funds to my wallet?
Click "Add Funds" from your dashboard or the upload page. You'll be redirected to Stripe Checkout to securely add funds using a credit card or other payment methods. The minimum deposit is $1.00.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay through Stripe. All payments are processed securely, and we never store your payment information.
Are there any additional fees?
Storage costs $0.03 per GB per month and includes a finite download allowance. When it runs out, downloads pause unless you prepay additional bandwidth at the greater of $0.02 per GB or $4 per million requests. Card fees are shown before checkout; see the pricing page for the exact total and account limits.
Can I get a refund?
Deposits are non-refundable once added to your wallet. However, funds remain in your wallet indefinitely and can be used for future uploads or retention extensions.
Security & Privacy
Is my content secure?
Content is stored securely on Cloudflare R2 with encryption at rest. However, anyone with the 256t hash can download the content - treat the hash like a password. Don't share hashes for sensitive content publicly.
Do you scan or inspect uploaded content?
No. We treat all content as opaque binary data. We don't scan, inspect, or process file contents. Content is identified solely by its cryptographic hash.
What authentication methods do you support?
We use Clerk for OAuth authentication, supporting Google, Apple, Microsoft, and GitHub accounts. We don't handle passwords directly - authentication is managed securely through these trusted providers.
Can I use API keys?
Yes! You can create API keys from your dashboard for programmatic access. Keys can be set to expire after a specified duration and can be revoked at any time. See our API documentation for details.
Technical
How is the 256t hash computed?
For content larger than 64 bytes, we compute a SHA-512 hash and encode it in Base64URL format. For content 64 bytes or smaller, we use direct Base64URL encoding. The hash includes an 8-character length prefix.
Where is my content stored?
Content is stored on Cloudflare R2, a globally distributed object storage service. This ensures low-latency access from anywhere in the world.
What happens if HashBin.org goes offline?
Our infrastructure runs on Cloudflare's edge network with high availability guarantees. Content is stored redundantly across multiple data centers. In the unlikely event of extended downtime, you can contact support for data export options.
Is there an upload size limit?
The maximum file size is currently 90 MB, set by the request size limits of the Cloudflare Workers that receive uploads. Support for larger files is planned. There are no limits on the total amount of content you can store.
Do you have an API?
Yes! We provide a comprehensive REST API for content upload, retrieval, and account management. See our API reference for complete documentation.
Still Have Questions?
If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please refer to our Terms of Service for detailed information about policies and procedures, or reach out through the support channels listed there.
Funded downloads
Download spending is optional and disabled by default. Enable it in Account settings and set daily and monthly caps for the account and each API key or app. The file’s allowance pays first; afterward each GET, HEAD and cache hit costs the greater of $4 per million requests and $0.02 per GiB. Charges use your live balance and stay within every applicable cap. Unreported leases may stay charged (up to 250 requests per lease); cap changes and revocation apply within 60 seconds. Use protected /a/ or signed /s/ links for funded downloads. Whole cents fund reusable spending credit; at month end unused whole cents return to your balance and fractional cents remain available as credit.