Keep Your Notes Private: 5 Encrypted Alternatives to Evernote

If you’re an Evernote user concerned about your privacy, you may want to rethink your use of the app. Evernote has had a spotty history with its privacy policy, so it’s a good idea to find an encrypted notes app to store your notes on.

So, what’s wrong with Evernote, and what are some good alternatives?

Is Evernote Secure?

Evernote’s security has had a rocky history. Back in 2016, they announced that employees would be able to view user’s notes. The goal was to see if a machine learning feature worked as intended, but people weren’t so keen on employees sifting through their data.

Since then, Evernote has implemented End-to-End encryption, which shows a little more respect for user’s data. However, to use Evernote’s encryption, you have to highlight the text you want to encrypt manually. This is annoying for people who wish all their writing to be encrypted by default.

Evernote’s security is just the tip of the iceberg, however. Even if you ignore the privacy issues, there are plenty of reasons to ditch Evernote and move to a different app. For instance, going premium with Evernote costs more than other note app’s premium plans.

If you’re looking for a more secure note-taking app, let’s explore some better alternatives to Evernote.

1. Turtl

Turtl aims to provide users space to store their notes safely. The app makes it easy to store text notes, files, images, passwords, and bookmarks in encrypted storage.

Everything is encrypted, even on Turtl’s servers. They don’t store your password, which means if you lose it, you can’t get any of your notes back. On the other hand, only you have the power to unencrypt your records, so it’s worth the extra responsibility!

The note editor and organization system in Turtl aren’t as advanced as those in Evernote. If you’re primarily interested in storing text notes and images, however, it’s great. The interface is clean and straightforward, and there are very few settings to toggle. Just start it up and go.

You can also share notes via Turtl, which is an excellent feature for an encrypted note-taking app. The app is currently free on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.

Turtl has also launched a premium version for users who want to store large amounts of data. If you wish to save 10GB of notes and work with ten other people on the same note, it only costs $3 a month. This makes Turtl a cost-effective way to store and share a lot of data.

Download: Turtl (Free with premium option, compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Chrome, and Firefox)

2. Laverna

Unlike some secure notes apps, Laverna doesn’t use a central server. This means they’ll never have access to your notes, including encrypted ones.

Instead, you’ll need to sync it with Dropbox or RemoteStorage. You can then access the notes from the web interface or the desktop client, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. An Android app is coming soon. Laverna’s support for Markdown makes it a cinch to format your text, and it provides support for task lists and code highlighting.

Beyond that, it’s a bare-bones note-taking app, perfect if you’re looking for something with minimal distractions. Privacy enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that you don’t need to register to get started.

Download: Laverna (Free, compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux)

3. Protected Text

If you don’t need many organizational features, Protected Text meets your needs. It’s about as simple as a note-taking app can be: a few plain-text tabs, and that’s it. No text formatting, no folders, no tags, no search. Just an encrypted space to store your stuff.

The best part is, Protected Text is a website. You can use it on any device that can display web pages; in this day and age, that’s practically everything!

You can access this web app through your browser by going to protectedtext.com/[anything], and if that particular URL is available, you can claim and password-protect it. After that, all you need to do is go back to the same URL and enter the password. That’s all there is to it!

4. Saferoom

Instead of offering a new encrypted note-taking app, Saferoom encrypts your Evernote and Onenote notes before syncing them to the cloud.
It requires more steps than only using an encrypted note app, but it does let you keep using your chosen note-taking app. You can also choose only to encrypt specific notes if you don’t want to encrypt everything.

This is likely to be the best option for users who are committed to Evernote and can’t imagine moving to something else. It’s currently available on iOS, Android, Chrome, and Windows.

Download: Saferoom (Free, compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS)

Download: Saferoom Chrome Extension (Free)

5. Joplin

Joplin puts together two features that make privacy advocates happy; encryption and open-source code. This makes it the most secure note app due to its encryption and transparency.

Joplin is perfect for the Evernote addict; it can accept ENEX files, the filetype Evernote uses. The conversion isn’t perfect, and some of Evernote’s advanced features will be lost in the conversion. However, you can transfer the majority of your data to a safer, more secure platform.

Joplin also has a useful web clipper as an optional download. It installs on Chrome and Firefox and makes it easier to clip webpages, either as text or as a screenshot. If you find yourself using Joplin for online research, it’s worth installing to make your life easier.

Download: Joplin (Free, compatible with Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS)

Keeping Your Text Secure

If you want to keep your notes secure, there are plenty of ways to encrypt them. Regardless of if you want to stick with Evernote, or you want to try something new, there’s an app that fits your needs.

If you want to keep your communications safe on Android, why not learn how to send encrypted emails with OpenKeychain?

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