Guide
Temporary Spaces
A shared shelf with its own 8-character code — create it, share the code, let everyone add what's needed. It deletes itself when time is up.
The short version: Create a Temporary Space, get an 8-character code like K7QT-2M4X, and give the code to whoever should join. They enter it at sharetexts.online/space/join and can add text, links, photos, and files — visible to everyone in the space. When the space expires, the code stops working and the content is deleted.
When a Temporary Space is the right tool
A live transfer (the two-device room) moves something now: phone to laptop, this minute. A Temporary Space is for over time and more than two devices:
- Family trip planning — everyone adds photos, tickets, and addresses to one shelf for the week.
- Class or workshop — the organizer creates one space; students join with the code and grab the files.
- Event group — a code announced at the event collects everyone's pictures, with no app and no group chat.
- Neighborly handoff — leave a space open for the day with the Wi-Fi details, a document, and a link; people dip in when they can.
Create a space and get the code
Open the Spaces screen
Go to sharetexts.online/space/create and tap Create a space.
Pick a code or generate one
The code field comes first. Type your own 8 characters or tap Generate. ShareTexts checks live availability as you type — if a code is taken, it suggests a free alternative.
Choose a lifetime
From 6 hours up to 7 days. The countdown starts when you create the space, and you can close it earlier anytime.
Tap Create space
The space opens with its code pinned in the header — tap the code chip to copy it.
Share the code — that's the whole handoff
The code is the invitation. Read it out, text it, or show the QR code from the space's share sheet. Whoever should join opens the join screen, types the 8 characters, and taps Join space. A full share link works too — it carries the same access — and the share sheet keeps it under "Share a link instead," because for most people the code is easier to say and remember than a URL.
What the code can and can't do: the code finds the space — that's all. It contains no keys and stores no content. Anyone with the code and an internet connection can join while the space is open, so share it only with people you want inside. Closing the space or letting it expire retires the code everywhere.
What goes in a space
- Text and links — addresses, notes, passwords for the weekend guest. Links become tappable preview cards.
- Photos and videos — original quality, no compression.
- Any file type — PDFs, documents, archives, code. Large files upload in resumable parts, so a dropped connection doesn't restart from zero.
- From any device — phone, tablet, laptop; everyone with the code sees the same shelf, newest first, with one-tap download.
What happens when the time runs out
Every space shows a live countdown. When it reaches zero the space closes: the code is retired, the stored content is deleted, and anyone arriving with the old code or link sees a calm "no space with that code is open right now" message. The creator can also close the space early from its menu. Temporary means temporary — there is no archive and no account to keep it alive.
Temporary Space vs. two-device room
Two-device room (the classic flow): one sender, one receiver, live WebRTC transfer happening right now. Nothing waits on a server.
Temporary Space: one shared shelf, many devices, content waits for people to arrive during the space's lifetime.
Same privacy model: no accounts, no permanent history, content deleted when the room or space closes.