Notes app privacy ratings

Note-taking apps.

27 notes are rated against 4 public criteria, and 27 have enough evidence for a letter grade. Of the 16 with a known jurisdiction, 8 are based in a Five Eyes country, and 9 in the wider Fourteen Eyes.

Open-source notes only · Criteria for this category · Suggest an addition · Markdown

Notes privacy ratings, sorted by pick and then by grade
Name	Grade	Score	Data	Jurisdiction	Open source	No trackers or telemetry	No ads or data sales	Independent audit
Standard Notes End-to-end encrypted notes app for web, desktop and mobile, with open source clients and server. Paid plans add editors, file storage and more; the server can be self-hosted.	Grade A	90	100%	United States Five Eyes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial
Fossify Notes Open source Android note-taking app for text notes and checklists, with a home screen widget. Works offline with no internet permission.	Grade B	80	100%	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Markor Open source Android text editor and notebook for Markdown, todo.txt and plain-text files stored locally. Works offline and can use any sync app for the files.	Grade B	80	100%	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Memos Open source, self-hosted note-taking service for quick Markdown notes in a timeline, with tags, file attachments and an API. Runs as a single lightweight server with a web interface and stores data in SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL.	Grade B	80	100%	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Poznote Self-hosted notes and tasks web app with rich-text, Markdown and drawing editors, tags, multiple users, OIDC login and a REST API. Runs in Docker with PHP and SQLite.	Grade B	80	100%	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
SiYuan Local-first personal knowledge management app with Markdown editing, block-level references, bidirectional links and databases. Data stays on the device, with optional paid end-to-end encrypted cloud sync or third-party storage sync.	Grade B	80	100%	China Outside Eyes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Trilium Notes Open source hierarchical note-taking app for building a personal knowledge base, with rich text, code, diagrams, scripting and per-note encryption. Runs on the desktop or syncs with a self-hosted server. Maintained by the TriliumNext community.	Grade B	80	100%	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
VNote Qt-based note-taking app for Linux, Windows and macOS focused on Markdown editing. Notes are stored as plain files on the local system.	Grade B	80	100%	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Obsidian Knowledge base and note-taking app that works on local Markdown files, with links between notes, a graph view and a large community plugin and theme ecosystem. Optional paid sync and publishing services.	Grade C	70	100%	Canada Five Eyes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Notesnook End-to-end encrypted note-taking app with rich text notes, notebooks, tags, app lock and private vault. Open source clients and sync server; paid plans add storage and features.	Grade C	65	100%	Pakistan Outside Eyes	Yes	Partial	Yes	No
QOwnNotes Open source desktop notepad that stores notes as plain-text Markdown files, with optional Nextcloud or ownCloud sync, note versioning, per-note encryption, scripting and a to-do list integration.	Grade C	65	100%	–	Yes	Partial	Yes	No
Turtl End-to-end encrypted, collaborative notebook for notes, bookmarks, passwords and files, with desktop and mobile apps. Can be self-hosted or used with the hosted service.	Grade C	65	100%	United States Five Eyes	Yes	Partial	Yes	No
Zettlr Open source Markdown editor for notes and academic writing, with Zettelkasten linking, citation management through Zotero and CSL, and export through Pandoc. Works on local files.	Grade C	65	100%	–	Yes	Partial	Yes	No
AppFlowy Open source workspace for notes, documents, wikis, databases and kanban boards, with AI features and optional self-hosted or AppFlowy Cloud sync. Local-first desktop and mobile apps.	Grade D	50	100%	Singapore Outside Eyes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Cryptee Encrypted documents editor and photo storage with client-side encryption, usable in the browser or as an installable app. Sign-up needs no personal information.	Grade D	50	100%	Estonia Outside Eyes	Partial	Partial	Yes	No
Joplin Open source note-taking and to-do app for desktop, mobile and terminal, using Markdown notes organised in notebooks. Supports end-to-end encrypted sync through Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive or S3.	Grade D	50	100%	–	Yes	No	Yes	No
Logseq Open source outliner and knowledge base that stores notes as local Markdown or Org-mode files, with linked references, a graph view and journals. Available for desktop and mobile.	Grade D	50	100%	–	Yes	No	Yes	No
AFFiNE Workspace that combines documents, whiteboards and databases on one canvas, with local-first storage, real-time collaboration, AI features and optional cloud sync or self-hosting.	Grade D	40	100%	Singapore Outside Eyes	Yes	No	Partial	No
Anytype Local-first workspace for notes, documents, tasks and databases built from linked objects and types. Data is end-to-end encrypted and syncs peer to peer or through the Any network, which can be self-hosted.	Grade F	35	100%	Switzerland Outside Eyes	Partial	No	Yes	No
Apple Notes Apple's built-in notes app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, with checklists, attachments, scanned documents, folders and tags. Notes sync through iCloud and are end-to-end encrypted only when Advanced Data Protection is turned on.	Grade F	35	100%	United States Five Eyes	No	Partial	Yes	No
Notable Markdown-based note-taking app for desktop that stores notes and attachments as plain files on disk. No mobile app, built-in sync or encryption.	Grade F	35	100%	–	No	Partial	Yes	No
Evernote Proprietary note-taking app for text, web clips, images, PDFs and tasks, with notebooks, tags and search across devices. Notes are stored on Evernote's servers without end-to-end encryption. Owned by Bending Spoons.	Grade F	30	100%	Italy Fourteen Eyes	No	No	Yes	Partial
Google Keep Google's note-taking app for quick text notes, checklists, images, drawings and voice memos, with labels, colors and reminders. Notes sync through a Google account and are not end-to-end encrypted.	Grade F	30	100%	United States Five Eyes	No	No	Yes	Partial
Microsoft OneNote Microsoft's note-taking app that organizes typed, handwritten and audio notes in notebooks, sections and pages, synced through OneDrive. Free with a Microsoft account and included in Microsoft 365.	Grade F	30	100%	United States Five Eyes	No	No	Yes	Partial
Simplenote Plain-text note-taking app from Automattic with Markdown support, tags, version history and sync across devices. Free, with open source client apps.	Grade F	25	100%	United States Five Eyes	Partial	No	Partial	No
Bear Markdown note-taking app for Apple devices with nested tags, backlinks, note encryption with a password and iCloud sync. A Pro subscription adds sync, themes and export options.	Grade F	20	100%	Ireland Outside Eyes	No	No	Yes	No
Notion Proprietary workspace app that combines notes, documents, wikis, databases and project management, with real-time collaboration and built-in AI features. Content is stored on Notion's servers without end-to-end encryption.	Grade F	20	100%	United States Five Eyes	No	No	Partial	Partial

Questions

What is the most private option among notes?

No pick has been made yet. The table above is sorted by score, based on public evidence.

How are notes rated?

Each entry answers 4 questions: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit. Answers need links to evidence. See the full criteria.

Does jurisdiction matter?

Jurisdiction decides which laws can compel a provider to hand over data. Each entry shows its country and whether it is in the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes. The data a provider can hand over depends mostly on what it stores and who holds the keys. Read about jurisdictions and the CLOUD Act.