A free tool for the community
PGP practice tool
PGP is one of the best tools we have for private communication, but everyone gets stuck the first time. This is a safe place to practise: try encrypting, decrypting and signing with a key made for learning, and get a clear explanation if something goes wrong.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you paste on this page is sent to our servers. It's still a practice key, though — its private half is public (see below), so don't send anything real to it.
Our practice public key
Import this into your PGP tool first. Always check the fingerprint matches before you trust a key — that habit is half of using PGP safely.
Encrypt a message to our practice key
Write any message, encrypt it to our key, and paste the result below. If it worked, you'll see your original text — proof you encrypted to the right key.
- Import our key:
gpg --import cryptopostage-pgp-practice.asc(or File → Import in Kleopatra). - Encrypt to it:
gpg -e -a -r 099EBD53EB4C1D8FEE97DB1EDD0D99E77BBA056D message.txt(in Kleopatra: Notepad → Recipients → pick "CryptoPostage PGP Practice Key" → Encrypt). - Paste the whole -----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE----- block here.
Why we built this
A lot of people in the crypto and privacy community want to use PGP but don't have anyone to practise with. Sending a test message to a friend and waiting to hear whether it worked is slow, and when it fails, PGP tools rarely tell you why. This page gives you instant feedback and explains the common mistakes — encrypting to the wrong key, sending a public key instead of a message, a copy-paste that got cut off — so you can learn at your own pace.
Golden rule: never share your private key
Your public key is meant to be shared — anyone can use it to encrypt to you. Your private key must never leave your own device, and no legitimate website will ever ask for it. None of these exercises need it: you decrypt and sign in your own PGP tool, then paste only the result here.
Why is the practice key's private half public?
So the decryption can happen in your browser instead of on our server, and so nobody mistakes it for a real contact key. It also makes a useful point: a message is only as private as the private key that can open it. Anyone can read what's sent to this key — that's exactly why it's only for practice.
Show the practice private key
-----BEGIN PGP PRIVATE KEY BLOCK----- xVgEauQjHBYJKwYBBAHaRw8BAQdACrM5aphETalkkIqjfEzl/H1WwD2qu88S 1dhPC3QoW+kAAPwIe6PVD92heiilmkSby2ZpK+alXz5LkwQzBT1lOGhNUQ4r zUJDcnlwdG9Qb3N0YWdlIFBHUCBQcmFjdGljZSBLZXkgKHB1YmxpYyBwcmFj dGljZSBrZXkgLSBub3QgcHJpdmF0ZSnCwBMEExYKAIUFgmrkIxwDCwkHCRDd DZnne7oFbUUUAAAAAAAcACBzYWx0QG5vdGF0aW9ucy5vcGVucGdwanMub3Jn oEKxx2GACGs6vA6E1ZLYU55p0hhJ1zVpk3EMYpj8uCYFFQoIDgwEFgACAQIZ AQKbAwIeARYhBAmevVPrTB2P7pfbHt0Nmed7ugVtAACBaAEA1WZKFrM00suk /5/wo3QNgI0sjG9JeKQu/wO/gM+/MWwA/2nB726+m0D+X/R8nMDHn1FgUSp8 27fYmuK4phFUnssEx10EauQjHBIKKwYBBAGXVQEFAQEHQMEEXwS4yXtyw9P3 Sk7NQiH6fPjmX4DIgRNkUryC4yZaAwEIBwAA/2WazusuXWalNlM8TljBjX3a fWtP0wMP9IbmxDk4NN6AEKDCvgQYFgoAcAWCauQjHAkQ3Q2Z53u6BW1FFAAA AAAAHAAgc2FsdEBub3RhdGlvbnMub3BlbnBncGpzLm9yZ3ai/okYlMDMXMc6 Xq5BTShW0i1DzNA8jWf++ZooZRewApsMFiEECZ69U+tMHY/ul9se3Q2Z53u6 BW0AAMnNAQCeLF1wyLumkZGkPWm2zt2JgbM1Cod+l1ts3QvXkdWbpwEAg8rI w/zxJGrM72uagtxtEfl5m4RWBr3cGWkLZYZsMgY= =XWkA -----END PGP PRIVATE KEY BLOCK-----
Tools you can use
On Windows, Gpg4win includes Kleopatra, a point-and-click PGP app. On macOS, GPG Suite. On Linux, gpg is usually already installed. The commands shown in each exercise work in any terminal with GnuPG.
Do I need PGP to use CryptoPostage?
No. This tool is just something we wanted to give back — it isn't part of ordering. To buy a shipping label with Bitcoin or Monero, head to the shipping label tool, or read our guides.