What a private, local-first notes app should actually do
The short answer: a private notes app keeps your notes on your device, encrypts them there before they go anywhere, with a key the company never receives, and works without an account or an internet connection. Any feature that does send something out, like an AI assistant or email, should be opt-in and say exactly what it sends. “Encrypted” on its own doesn't tell you any of that, so check the six things below.
Six questions to ask any notes app
- Where do my notes live?On your device, in files you can see, or only on the company's servers? If the app stops working when you're offline, they live on the servers.
- Who holds the key? Almost every service encrypts data on its own disks, and holds the key. What you want is encryption on your device, before anything is saved or synced, with a key that stays with you.
- Do I need an account? An app that works with no sign-in at all has nothing to link your notes to.
- What does the AI send, and to whom?Many notes apps now send your notes to an AI model for summaries, search or chat. Look for AI that's opt-in, labelled, and runs on your device where it can.
- What can the company still see? Even with good encryption, a server that syncs your notes can usually see when things change and roughly how big they are. An honest app tells you that.
- Can I leave with everything?Export to plain files you can open in any other app. A notebook you can't take with you isn't really yours.
How Digital Notebook answers them
Local-first by default. Private everywhere. Cloud optional.
- It lives on your computer.The desktop app keeps your notebook in a folder you choose. There's no account and no sign-in, and it works offline: search and resurfacing run on your device, with the model built into the app.
- It's encrypted on your device first.Your notes are encrypted before they're saved, in the desktop folder and in a web account alike. We never receive the key, so we can't read your notes: we store only what we can't read.
- Resurfacing never sends your notes anywhere. Finding the related passage while you write happens on your device, on desktop and on the web.
- The cloud is optional. Using the notebook on the website is something you choose, not something required.
- You can leave any time. Export everything to plain Markdown files, or take an encrypted backup.
The exceptions, in plain words
- Asking Lora, the assistant.When you ask it a question, your question and the passages it draws on are sent to an AI model to write the answer. On the desktop app it's off until you switch it on.
- Email to your notebook.Email arrives as ordinary email, and it's sealed the moment it reaches us. That isn't end-to-end encryption, because the sender's mail isn't encrypted to begin with.
- What we can see. If you use a web account, we can see when things change, roughly how big they are, and how many devices you use. Never what they say.
- The website.A website runs the code it's served that day. The desktop app is the stronger home for your most private notes.
The full detail, including every service involved, is in the privacy policy and on how it works.
Common questions
What does local-first mean for a notes app?
Your notes live on your own device and the app works fully without an internet connection or an account. A server, if there is one, is an optional extra for sync or access from elsewhere, not the place your notes really live.
Is "encrypted" enough to call a notes app private?
No. Most apps encrypt data in transit and on their disks, but hold the keys, so they can read your notes. The question is whether notes are encrypted on your device, with a key the company never receives.
Is there a notes app without AI?
Several, such as Obsidian, Bear and Simplenote, ship without built-in AI. If what you want to avoid is your notes being sent to an AI company, also look at apps whose AI is opt-in, clearly labelled, and runs on your device when it can.
Can a web app be as private as a desktop app?
It can encrypt your notes in the browser so the server stores only what it cannot read. But a website runs whatever code it is served that day, so a desktop app you install is the stronger home for the most sensitive notes.