diff --git a/burn.go b/burn.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8dff1fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/burn.go
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/subtle"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"net/http"
+
+	"github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
+)
+
+// genDeletionToken returns a 32-char url-safe random token
+func genDeletionToken() string {
+	b := make([]byte, 24)
+	rand.Read(b)
+	return base64.RawURLEncoding.EncodeToString(b)
+}
+
+// maybeBurn marks a paste soft-deleted if burn_after_read is set.
+// Returns true if this read consumed the paste.
+func (s *Store) maybeBurn(row *PasteRow) bool {
+	if !row.BurnAfterRead {
+		return false
+	}
+	s.SoftDelete(row.ID)
+	return true
+}
+
+func deletionTokenEqual(stored, given string) bool {
+	return subtle.ConstantTimeCompare([]byte(stored), []byte(given)) == 1
+}
+
+// handleRedeemDeletion lets a holder of the deletion token hard-delete immediately.
+// DELETE /api/pastes/{id}/redeem?token=...
+func (a *apiServer) handleRedeemDeletion(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	id := chi.URLParam(r, "id")
+	token := r.URL.Query().Get("token")
+	if token == "" {
+		writeErr(w, 400, "token required")
+		return
+	}
+	row, err := a.store.GetPaste(id)
+	if err != nil || row == nil {
+		writeErr(w, 404, "paste not found")
+		return
+	}
+	if row.DeletionToken.String == "" || !deletionTokenEqual(row.DeletionToken.String, token) {
+		writeErr(w, 403, "invalid token")
+		return
+	}
+	// hard delete: pastes table row goes away entirely
+	a.store.db.Exec(`DELETE FROM pastes WHERE id = ?`, row.ID)
+	writeJSON(w, 200, map[string]string{"status": "deleted"})
+}
diff --git a/burn_test.go b/burn_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9f9331
--- /dev/null
+++ b/burn_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestBurnAfterRead(t *testing.T) {
+	s := testServer(t)
+	h := s.routes()
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("POST", "/api/pastes", strings.NewReader(`{"content":"vanish","burn_after_read":true}`))
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != 201 {
+		t.Fatalf("create: %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+	var created struct{ ID string `json:"id"` }
+	json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &created)
+
+	// first read ok
+	req = httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/pastes/"+created.ID, nil)
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("first read: %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+
+	// second read gone
+	req = httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/pastes/"+created.ID, nil)
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != 404 {
+		t.Fatalf("second read expected 404, got %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDeletionTokenRedeem(t *testing.T) {
+	s := testServer(t)
+	h := s.routes()
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("POST", "/api/pastes", strings.NewReader(`{"content":"x"}`))
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	var created struct {
+		ID            string `json:"id"`
+		DeletionToken string `json:"deletion_token"`
+	}
+	json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &created)
+	if created.DeletionToken == "" {
+		t.Fatal("no deletion token in create response")
+	}
+
+	// wrong token
+	req = httptest.NewRequest("DELETE", "/api/pastes/"+created.ID+"/redeem?token=wrong", nil)
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != 403 {
+		t.Fatalf("wrong token: %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+
+	// right token: hard delete
+	req = httptest.NewRequest("DELETE", "/api/pastes/"+created.ID+"/redeem?token="+created.DeletionToken, nil)
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("redeem: %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+
+	// gone for good: even soft-deleted lookup returns nothing, and row count is 0
+	var n int
+	s.store.db.QueryRow(`SELECT COUNT(*) FROM pastes WHERE id=?`, created.ID).Scan(&n)
+	if n != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("row still exists after redeem")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNonBurnPasteUnaffectedByRead(t *testing.T) {
+	s := testServer(t)
+	h := s.routes()
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("POST", "/api/pastes", strings.NewReader(`{"content":"normal"}`))
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	var created struct{ ID string `json:"id"` }
+	json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &created)
+
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		req = httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/pastes/"+created.ID, nil)
+		rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+		h.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+		if rec.Code != 200 {
+			t.Fatalf("read %d: %d", i, rec.Code)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index bd2a2af..2fde6c5 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ type Paste struct {
 	DeletedAt   *int64  `json:"deleted_at,omitempty"`
 	ExpiresAt   *int64  `json:"expires_at,omitempty"`
 	ViewCount   int     `json:"view_count"`
+	DeletionToken string `json:"-"`
 }
 
 type PasteRow struct {
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ type PasteRow struct {
 	CreatedAt     int64
 	DeletedAt     sql.NullInt64
 	ViewCount     int
+	DeletionToken sql.NullString
 }
 
 type CanRow struct {
@@ -109,7 +111,8 @@ func (s *Store) migrate() error {
 		can_id        TEXT,
 		created_at    INTEGER NOT NULL,
 		deleted_at    INTEGER,
-		view_count    INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0
+		view_count    INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+	deletion_token TEXT
 	);
 	CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_pastes_visibility_created ON pastes(visibility, created_at DESC);
 	CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_pastes_expires ON pastes(expires_at) WHERE expires_at IS NOT NULL;
@@ -125,6 +128,7 @@ func (s *Store) migrate() error {
 		expires_at    INTEGER
 	);
 	`)
+	s.db.Exec(`ALTER TABLE pastes ADD COLUMN deletion_token TEXT`) // ignore if exists
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -199,10 +203,11 @@ func (s *Store) CreatePaste(p *Paste) (*Paste, error) {
 	if p.CustomSlug != nil && *p.CustomSlug != "" {
 		slugVal = p.CustomSlug
 	}
+	p.DeletionToken = genDeletionToken()
 	_, err := s.db.Exec(`INSERT INTO pastes
-		(id, custom_slug, content, content_type, language, title, password_hash, expires_at, burn_after_read, visibility, created_at)
-		VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)`,
-		id, slugVal, p.Content, contentType, p.Language, p.Title, pwHash, expiresAt, boolToInt(p.BurnAfterRead), visibility, now)
+		(id, custom_slug, content, content_type, language, title, password_hash, expires_at, burn_after_read, visibility, created_at, deletion_token)
+		VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)`,
+		id, slugVal, p.Content, contentType, p.Language, p.Title, pwHash, expiresAt, boolToInt(p.BurnAfterRead), visibility, now, p.DeletionToken)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -214,10 +219,10 @@ func (s *Store) CreatePaste(p *Paste) (*Paste, error) {
 }
 
 func (s *Store) GetPaste(idOrSlug string) (*PasteRow, error) {
-	row := s.db.QueryRow(`SELECT id, custom_slug, content, content_type, language, title, password_hash, expires_at, burn_after_read, visibility, can_id, created_at, deleted_at, view_count
+	row := s.db.QueryRow(`SELECT id, custom_slug, content, content_type, language, title, password_hash, expires_at, burn_after_read, visibility, can_id, created_at, deleted_at, view_count, deletion_token
 		FROM pastes WHERE (id = ? OR custom_slug = ?) AND deleted_at IS NULL`, idOrSlug, idOrSlug)
 	var r PasteRow
-	err := row.Scan(&r.ID, &r.CustomSlug, &r.Content, &r.ContentType, &r.Language, &r.Title, &r.PasswordHash, &r.ExpiresAt, &r.BurnAfterRead, &r.Visibility, &r.CanID, &r.CreatedAt, &r.DeletedAt, &r.ViewCount)
+	err := row.Scan(&r.ID, &r.CustomSlug, &r.Content, &r.ContentType, &r.Language, &r.Title, &r.PasswordHash, &r.ExpiresAt, &r.BurnAfterRead, &r.Visibility, &r.CanID, &r.CreatedAt, &r.DeletedAt, &r.ViewCount, &r.DeletionToken)
 	if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -319,6 +324,7 @@ func (a *apiServer) routes() http.Handler {
 		r.Post("/pastes", a.handleCreatePaste)
 		r.Get("/pastes/{id}", a.handleGetPaste)
 		r.Delete("/pastes/{id}", a.handleDeletePaste)
+		r.Delete("/pastes/{id}/redeem", a.handleRedeemDeletion)
 		r.Get("/public", a.handleListPublic)
 		r.Post("/pastes/can", a.handleCreateCan)
 		r.Get("/cans/{id}", a.handleGetCan)
@@ -362,6 +368,7 @@ func (a *apiServer) handleCreatePaste(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	}
 	writeJSON(w, 201, map[string]any{
 		"id":        created.ID,
+		"deletion_token": created.DeletionToken,
 		"url":       "/" + created.ID,
 		"raw_url":   "/raw/" + created.ID,
 		"api_url":   "/api/pastes/" + created.ID,
@@ -402,6 +409,7 @@ func (a *apiServer) handleGetPaste(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		}
 		return nil
 	}
+	a.store.maybeBurn(row)
 	writeJSON(w, 200, map[string]any{
 		"id": row.ID, "content": row.Content, "content_type": row.ContentType,
 		"language": nullPtr(row.Language), "title": nullPtr(row.Title), "created_at": row.CreatedAt,
diff --git a/palette b/palette
index 077ee0c..6edafc0 100755
Binary files a/palette and b/palette differ
diff --git a/palette.db-shm b/palette.db-shm
index ddcf9b9..1e288e7 100644
Binary files a/palette.db-shm and b/palette.db-shm differ
diff --git a/palette.db-wal b/palette.db-wal
index 92b7450..043d6f2 100644
Binary files a/palette.db-wal and b/palette.db-wal differ