Notesnook is a zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app for individuals and teams who need their notes to stay private, without trusting a cloud provider to keep them that way.
The Problem
Evernote, Notion, and OneNote store notes on their own servers in a form that service staff can technically access under certain conditions. Notion has acknowledged employees can view content under its terms of service. For lawyers, journalists, medical professionals, or anyone with sensitive client information, that is not a privacy model, it is a policy promise. Policies change; cryptography does not.
How Notesnook Solves It
Notesnook encrypts every note on your device before syncing. The sync server receives only ciphertext with no decryption keys. The client apps, web clipper, and sync server are all GPL-3.0 licensed and open source, so the encryption implementation is auditable rather than just claimed. Apps run on web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, with offline access on all platforms.
Key Features
- Zero-knowledge encryption: every note encrypted on-device before leaving your machine
- Cross-platform apps for web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android with offline support
- Rich text editor with tables, task lists, embeds, and Markdown
- Bidirectional note linking and notebook hierarchies for structured organization
- Encrypted Monographs for sharing specific notes securely without exposing the rest of your account
- GPL-3.0 licensed with a self-hostable sync server for teams that want complete infrastructure control
Who It's For
Notesnook is best for privacy-conscious individuals and professionals (lawyers, journalists, medical staff) who need a Notion or Evernote alternative with cryptographic privacy guarantees rather than policy-level promises.
Compared to Notion
Unlike Notion, Notesnook encrypts every note client-side before syncing, so neither Notesnook's servers nor any third party has a technical means to read your content. Notion stores content in readable form on its servers, with employee access permitted under specific conditions per its terms.
