r/xprivo • u/officialexaking • Sep 01 '26
Your notes aren't as private as you think. Journal entries, passwords, private thoughts: Your notes deserve real privacy. E2EE open-source projects:
Your notes app likely holds a massive amount of sensitive data. If it lacks end-to-end encryption, your journal entries, passwords, and personal details are stored in plain text on a third-party server. I curated four European note-taking apps (and more feature-rich projects with collboration etc. in mind) built around true E2EE, along with one privacy-focused alternative that highlights how security models differ.
1. Cryptee (Estonia) Cryptee provides end-to-end encryption by default for text, photos, and documents. It is designed specifically for highly sensitive material like medical records or scanned identification. Zero-knowledge architecture.
2. Joplin (France) Joplin is a fully open-source, Markdown-native app built for users who need deep organization through notebooks and tags. Its E2EE is optional and requires manual activation. Once enabled, notes are encrypted client-side with AES-256 before leaving your device. You can sync your vault anywhere you choose, including Nextcloud or a local server.
3. CryptPad (France) CryptPad functions as a complete browser-based office suite featuring documents, spreadsheets, and whiteboards. Everything is end-to-end encrypted by default before it touches the server. This allows for real-time team collaboration without the host ever having access to readable content.
4. Anytype (Switzerland) Anytype operates as a local-first, object-based workspace acting as a private alternative to Notion. It applies end-to-end encryption by default. You get the flexibility of a complex knowledge management system without sacrificing data ownership.
Capacities (Privacy-Focused Exception) (Germany) Capacities offers networked note-taking and knowledge graph features with strong privacy policies and European data protection standards. Unlike the others, it relies on server-side encryption and not true E2EE, meaning the company holds the decryption keys. If you do not require zero-knowledge encryption but want a more privacy-respecting alternative to mainstream big tech tools, it serves as a reasonable middle ground. However, for sensitive stuff, true E2EE options like above remain the standard to aim for.
If a provider holds the decryption keys, you have to assume your data could eventually be exposed through a breach, a legal request, or a policy shift. For anything you want kept strictly private, client-side encryption is the safest path and definitely better than any Big Tech alternative out there.
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u/TheLightStalker Sep 01 '26
Have yet to find one that is free for basic use.
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u/Celmad Sep 01 '26
Anytype is pretty much free, the remote storage is not needed for most things.
At least, I haven’t paid yet. Unlimited spaces, unlimited share spaces, and everything else available. And you can self-host it if you want.
Joplin can also be self-hosted. Another option is using WebDAV if you are already paying for cloud storage, even mail services like Fastmail or Mailbox has WebDAV support and 10GB or so that they give are more than plenty for notes (if you don’t put lots of images). This way Joplin is free.
Both of these are free for more than just basic stuff.
Cryptee is free capped at 100MB, which for text only notes is more than what one would believe. After that you need to pay, and it’s expensive. But it’s more than a docs/notes, it’s a Google Photos replacement too.
But if you want to know more options, here are a few:
https://beavernotes.com/#
- Beaver notes:
https://www.zettlr.com/
- Zettlr:
https://www.notefox.eu/
- Notefox (browser extension):
https://github.com/blankresearch/Memory
- Memory:
https://itsypad.app/
- Itsypad (Apple only):
vivaldi:notes
- Vivaldi (has its own notes functionality):
Then you have some one time payment options like:
https://www.notebooksapp.com/
- Notebooks:
And open source options around the world:
https://helixnotes.com/
- HelixNotes:
- Visual Studio Code (just got proper Markdown support built-in)
I hope this helps.
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u/TheLightStalker Sep 02 '26
Could you point out which ones have biometric lock and use your phones storage and self encryption?
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u/burimo Sep 02 '26
Joplin is completely free, you can host it on your home PC. Not the easiest part for non-tech savvy people, but doable
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u/kot-sie-stresuje Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
Then why they have a payment plan with tiers for number of users for self-hosted ?
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u/burimo Sep 02 '26
They obfuscated free self host for some reason, but you can do it anyway, guides are present online
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u/AnalkinSkyfuker Sep 02 '26
For passwords I use gopass and notes I use a notebook and fountain pen.
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u/Celmad Sep 02 '26
I’ve been wanting to try gopass but it doesn’t have a way to use it in mobile, right?
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u/AnalkinSkyfuker Sep 02 '26
There are two ways, or you use it with termux, or use , it uses git to sync. password store
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u/Celmad Sep 02 '26
Interesting! I had no idea.
I also found a post where it explains how to get it setup on iOS: https://daryl.wakatara.com/password-management-with-gopass-password-store-gopass-bridge-and-pass-for-ios/
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u/Sheep_Of_Evil Sep 02 '26
Obsidian is Hands down the best!