diff --git a/handlers.py b/handlers.py
index 477ad69..ab6864f 100644
--- a/handlers.py
+++ b/handlers.py
@@ -364,7 +364,8 @@ def handle_add_form(msg="", action_type="index"):
         f'{_csrf_field()}'
         f'<input name="url" placeholder="https://example.com" size="50"><br><br>'
         f'<input name="note" placeholder="why are you saving this? (optional)" size="50"><br><br>'
-        f'<input name="tags" placeholder="tags (comma-separated, e.g. solarpunk, mesh)" size="50"><br><br>'
+        f'<input name="tags" placeholder="tags (comma-separated, e.g. solarpunk, mesh)" size="50"><br>'
+        f'<small>tag: private to exclude from sharing</small><br><br>'
         f'<button type="submit">index</button>'
         f"</form>"
         f"<p>{msg}</p>"
@@ -426,7 +427,7 @@ def handle_add_submit(body):
                 f'<label>Title:</label><br>'
                 f'<input name="manual_title" size="50" placeholder="page title" required><br><br>'
                 f'<label>Description:</label><br>'
-                f'<textarea name="manual_description" rows="4" cols="50" placeholder="what is this site about?" required></textarea><br><br>'
+                f'<textarea name="manual_description" rows="4" cols="50" placeholder="what is this site about? (optional)"></textarea><br><br>'
                 f'<button type="submit">save manually</button>'
                 f"</form>"
                 f'<a href="/">back</a>'
@@ -444,8 +445,8 @@ def handle_add_manual_submit(body):
     if not url:
         return handle_add_form("URL is required.")
     
-    if not manual_title or not manual_desc:
-        return handle_add_form("Title and description are required for manual entry.")
+    if not manual_title:
+        return handle_add_form("Title is required for manual entry.")
 
     db = get_db()
     try:
@@ -603,7 +604,8 @@ def handle_edit_form(page_id, msg=""):
         f'<label>Note (why you saved this):</label><br>'
         f'<input name="note" value="{esc(row["note"])}" size="50"><br><br>'
         f'<label>Tags (comma-separated):</label><br>'
-        f'<input name="tags" value="{esc(tags)}" size="50"><br><br>'
+        f'<input name="tags" value="{esc(tags)}" size="50"> '
+        f'<small>(tag: private to keep private)</small><br><br>'
         f'<button type="submit">save</button>'
         f"</form>"
         f"<p>{msg}</p>"
@@ -768,7 +770,8 @@ def handle_style_form(msg=""):
         f'<input name="site_name" value="{esc(name)}" placeholder="tinyweb" size="30"><br><br>'
         f"<h2>sharing</h2>"
         f'<label><input type="checkbox" name="sharing_enabled" value="1"{checked}>'
-        f" share your site list publicly at /api/sites</label><br><br>"
+        f" share your site list publicly at /api/sites</label><br>"
+        f"<small>Note: pages tagged: private will not be shared.</small><br><br>"
         f"<h2>mesh network</h2>"
         f"<p>Connect to a Reticulum transport node to reach other peers.</p>"
         f"<small>Default: reticulum.derickphan.com:4242</small><br>"
@@ -974,6 +977,8 @@ def handle_api_sites(query=None):
         sites = []
         for r in rows:
             tags = _get_page_tags(r["id"], db)
+            if "private" in tags:
+                continue  # Skip pages tagged private from sharing
             sites.append({
                 "url": r["url"], "title": r["title"], "note": r["note"],
                 "tags": tags, "last_modified": r["last_modified"] or "",
@@ -981,7 +986,10 @@ def handle_api_sites(query=None):
         # Include list of all current URLs so subscriber can detect deletions (limited)
         all_urls = None
         if not since:
-            all_urls = [r["url"] for r in db.execute("SELECT url FROM pages LIMIT ?", (MAX_API_SITES,)).fetchall()]
+            all_url_rows = db.execute(
+                "SELECT p.id, p.url FROM pages ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT ?", (MAX_API_SITES,)
+            ).fetchall()
+            all_urls = [r["url"] for r in all_url_rows if "private" not in _get_page_tags(r["id"], db)]
     finally:
         return_db(db)
     data = {"name": get_site_name(), "sites": sites}