diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4e0ad5f..dd9e4d8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,12 +4,53 @@ A secure, self-hostable "burn after reading" paste service with ephemeral storag
 
 ## Features
 
-- **Ephemeral pastes** — Content is deleted immediately after first view
-- **No persistence** — All data stored in-memory only (restarts clear everything)
-- **No accounts** — Zero-friction sharing without registration
-- **Self-hosted** — Run your own instance with full control
-- **Fast & lightweight** — Built on the BEAM VM for reliability and performance
-- **Type-safe** — Written in Gleam, a type-safe functional language
+- Deletes pastes after they are viewed
+- Data is stored only in memory
+- No user accounts needed
+- Easy to run yourself
+- Fast and reliable
+- Written in Gleam (type-safe)
+
+## Flowchart
+
+```mermaid
+graph TD
+    A[User creates paste] --> B[Paste is stored in memory]
+    B --> C[Paste is deleted after first view]
+    C --> D[User shares paste URL]
+    D --> E[User views paste]
+    E --> F[Paste is deleted]
+```
+
+Note: the creator can now see their post - it will be burned immediately.
+
+## Configuration
+
+### SECRET_KEY_BASE (Required for Production)
+
+The application uses a secret key base for signing cookies and security tokens.
+
+You **must** set this for production deployments to ensure security and session persistence across restarts.
+
+```bash
+# Generate a secure key (48 bytes of random data)
+export SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -base64 48)
+
+# Or set it manually
+export SECRET_KEY_BASE="your-secret-key-here"
+```
+
+**⚠️ Warning**: If not set, a temporary key will be generated on each startup. This:
+
+- Invalidates all existing user sessions/cookies after restart
+- Reduces security (new key generated each time)
+- Generates a warning in the logs
+
+For development, you can use:
+
+```bash
+SECRET_KEY_BASE=dev gleam run
+```
 
 ## Quick Start
 
@@ -32,17 +73,23 @@ The server starts on `http://localhost:3000`.
 
 ## Architecture
 
-- **Web framework**: Wisp (Gleam's web framework)
-- **HTTP server**: Mist (HTTP/1.1 & HTTP/2)
-- **HTML rendering**: Lustre (type-safe, declarative HTML generation)
-- **Storage**: In-memory OTP actor (no disk persistence)
-- **Key generation**: Cryptographically random 16-character keys
+- **Gleam**: Type-safe language built upon the BEAM
+- **Web**: Wisp framework + Mist HTTP server
+- **Frontend**: Lustre for HTML rendering
+- **Storage**: In-memory only (no persistence)
+- **Security**: AES-256-GCM client-side encryption, CSRF tokens, rate limiting, security headers
 
 ## Security Notes
 
-- Pastes are stored **unencrypted** in server memory
+- Pastes are client-side encrypted (AES-256-GCM) before being sent to server
+- Server never sees the decryption key (stored in URL fragment after `#`)
+- Data is stored **encrypted** in server memory only
 - Data is **never written to disk**
 - All data is lost on server restart
+- CSRF protection via double-submit cookie pattern
+- Rate limiting: 10 requests per minute per IP
+- Security headers: CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy
+- 10MB maximum paste size limit
 - Intended for ephemeral sharing only — do not store sensitive data
 
 ## License