diff --git a/app/api/routes.py b/app/api/routes.py
index 6b308cf..341f3b5 100644
--- a/app/api/routes.py
+++ b/app/api/routes.py
@@ -327,6 +327,29 @@ def detect_mime_type(content: bytes, content_type: str | None = None) -> str:
         return "application/octet-stream"
 
 
+def is_recognizable_format(content: bytes) -> tuple[bool, str | None]:
+    """Check if content is a recognizable (likely unencrypted) format.
+
+    Returns (is_recognizable, detected_format).
+    Used to enforce encryption by rejecting known formats.
+    """
+    # Check magic bytes
+    for magic, mime in MAGIC_SIGNATURES.items():
+        if content.startswith(magic):
+            if magic == b"RIFF" and len(content) >= 12 and content[8:12] != b"WEBP":
+                continue
+            return True, mime
+
+    # Check if valid UTF-8 text (plaintext)
+    try:
+        content.decode("utf-8")
+        return True, "text/plain"
+    except UnicodeDecodeError:
+        pass
+
+    return False, None
+
+
 def generate_paste_id(content: bytes) -> str:
     """Generate unique paste ID from content hash and timestamp."""
     data = content + str(time.time_ns()).encode()
@@ -425,6 +448,17 @@ class IndexView(MethodView):
                 authenticated=owner is not None,
             )
 
+        # Minimum size check (enforces encryption overhead)
+        min_size = current_app.config.get("MIN_PASTE_SIZE", 0)
+        if min_size > 0 and content_size < min_size:
+            return error_response(
+                "Paste too small",
+                400,
+                size=content_size,
+                min_size=min_size,
+                hint="Encrypt content before uploading (-e flag in fpaste)",
+            )
+
         # Entropy check
         min_entropy = current_app.config.get("MIN_ENTROPY", 0)
         min_entropy_size = current_app.config.get("MIN_ENTROPY_SIZE", 256)
@@ -445,6 +479,22 @@ class IndexView(MethodView):
                     hint="Encrypt content before uploading (-e flag in fpaste)",
                 )
 
+        # Binary content requirement (reject recognizable formats)
+        if current_app.config.get("REQUIRE_BINARY", False):
+            is_recognized, detected_format = is_recognizable_format(content)
+            if is_recognized:
+                current_app.logger.warning(
+                    "Recognizable format rejected: %s from=%s",
+                    detected_format,
+                    request.remote_addr,
+                )
+                return error_response(
+                    "Recognizable format not allowed",
+                    400,
+                    detected=detected_format,
+                    hint="Encrypt content before uploading (-e flag in fpaste)",
+                )
+
         # Deduplication check
         content_hash = hashlib.sha256(content).hexdigest()
         is_allowed, dedup_count = check_content_hash(content_hash)
diff --git a/app/config.py b/app/config.py
index 4ba4c86..73ffc95 100644
--- a/app/config.py
+++ b/app/config.py
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ class Config:
     PASTE_ID_LENGTH = int(os.environ.get("FLASKPASTE_ID_LENGTH", "12"))
 
     # Paste size limits
+    # Minimum size enforces encryption overhead (IV + tag + ciphertext)
+    # AES-256-GCM: 12 byte IV + 16 byte tag = 28 bytes minimum, ~40 base64
+    MIN_PASTE_SIZE = int(os.environ.get("FLASKPASTE_MIN_SIZE", 0))  # 0 = disabled
     MAX_PASTE_SIZE_ANON = int(os.environ.get("FLASKPASTE_MAX_ANON", 3 * 1024 * 1024))  # 3MiB
     MAX_PASTE_SIZE_AUTH = int(os.environ.get("FLASKPASTE_MAX_AUTH", 50 * 1024 * 1024))  # 50MiB
     MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH = MAX_PASTE_SIZE_AUTH  # Flask request limit
@@ -36,6 +39,11 @@ class Config:
     # Minimum size for entropy check (small data has unreliable entropy measurement)
     MIN_ENTROPY_SIZE = int(os.environ.get("FLASKPASTE_MIN_ENTROPY_SIZE", 256))
 
+    # Require binary content (reject recognizable formats)
+    # When enabled, rejects content with known magic bytes (PNG, JPEG, PDF, etc.)
+    # and valid UTF-8 text. Only application/octet-stream allowed.
+    REQUIRE_BINARY = os.environ.get("FLASKPASTE_REQUIRE_BINARY", "0").lower() in ("1", "true", "yes")
+
     # Reverse proxy trust configuration
     # SECURITY: The X-SSL-Client-SHA1 header is trusted for authentication.
     # This header MUST only come from a trusted reverse proxy that validates