Note App Privacy Comparison
Content, AI Use, and Storage
“Not used for AI training,” “stored locally,” and “the provider cannot decrypt content” are different promises. Compare seven apps using official documentation, separating note content from account data and usage records, and checking what changes when features are enabled.
Check four things: why content is processed, where it is sent, what is retained, and which copies remain after deletion or export. Advertising, AI response generation, model training, and usage analytics should not be reduced to a single yes/no “AI analysis” label.
Reviewed September 9, 2026. The author develops Simple Memo. This compares vendors’ documented practices; it is not an independent audit of all network traffic or server retention.
Seven apps: compare content and related data
Scroll horizontally to read feature conditions and sources. Keyboard scrolling is supported.
| App | Content processing and storage | AI and usage-data conditions | Official sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Keep | Stores content and processes it for features such as search, with encryption in transit and at rest. | Google states that Keep content is not used for advertising. This does not mean no content processing or E2EE. | Keep privacy |
| Appleメモ / Apple Notes | Storage depends on the Notes account and iCloud settings. Advanced Data Protection (ADP) changes the protection of iCloud Notes. | Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing and, when needed, Private Cloud Compute. Check enabled extensions such as ChatGPT separately. | iCloud scope · Apple Intelligence |
| Evernote | Stores account information and notes; automatically creates search embeddings and stores them internally. | AI features are on by default and individually configurable. Assistance and meeting summaries use OpenAI; semantic search and transcription run internally. Content is not used for model training. | AI feature FAQ |
| Notion | Notion AI generates page embeddings through OpenAI’s API and stores them in a vector database. Answer generation sends relevant pages and other context to AI providers. | By default, Notion and its AI subprocessors do not train models on customer data. Retention depends on plan, feature, and settings; External Agents has separate controls. | AI privacy practices |
| Standard Notes | Encrypts content on the device before sync. Servers handle encrypted content and metadata such as creation and modification times. | Provider-inaccessible content is separate from account email, support, and payment information. Distinguish app usage tracking from website analytics. | Collected information |
| Obsidian | The core app stores the vault locally. Sync and Publish store data on servers when those services are used. | The core app states it collects no telemetry. Check sync settings, published sites, community plugins, and embedded web content individually. | App and service policy · Sync scope |
| Simple Memo | Encrypts the local Outbox and sent history. Content passes through the sending API and delivery provider and reaches email or a configured destination. | Uses first-party usage events and AppsFlyer acquisition and usage analytics. These are separate from note content, but linkable identifiers are not treated as fully anonymous. | Technical and analytics policy |
AI processing is different from model training
“Not used for training” does not mean “never sent to another provider.”Generating an answer or summary requires processing input. Check which notes, attachments, or search results are included, which provider processes them, and the retention conditions.
Notion AI: read defaults and feature exceptions
Model-training policy is separate from LLM-provider retention. Stored search embeddings are another copy, so an LLM’s zero-retention setting does not mean Notion AI stores nothing. Do not treat Enterprise, other workspaces, features needing data-retaining models, and External Agents as one universal zero-retention setting. See Notion AI’s official explanation.
Apple Intelligence: check local and off-device requests
Requests can run on device or use Private Cloud Compute when needed. On supported devices, Apple Intelligence Report can show off-device requests, including supported uses of an enabled ChatGPT extension. See Apple’s processing and report explanation.
Evernote’s AI features are enabled by default; review current settings and disable unwanted features individually. Check indexing and Assistant context separately in its AI FAQ.
Does sending to Proton Mail make the whole route E2EE?
Receiving ordinary external email in Proton Mail does not create E2EE from its original sender.Proton documents TLS transport and zero-access storage for incoming non-PGP email. This does not erase content handled or retained by the sending service. See what Proton Mail encrypts.
Choosing a Proton Mail address in Simple Memo does not bypass its sending API or delivery provider. Distinguish inbox storage protection from E2EE across the delivery route.
Simple Memo: content, usage records, and destinations
Content exists in local pending items and history and in delivered email or connected notes. Email delivery passes through a Cloudflare Workers Relay API and Resend. Local encryption does not mean delivery systems never process the content.
Usage analytics handle installation identifiers, sessions, events, and sending results; AppsFlyer links acquisition and usage information. The app’s explicit analytics fields are designed to exclude note content, email addresses, and verification codes directly, but some records can be linked from a send ID to a recipient hash. Excluding content from analytics is different from collecting no linkable information.
See the technical privacy policy for fields, purposes, and retention and the data-flow guide for the route. Email, local history, and an Obsidian note are separate copies to check when deleting data.
What to check for deletion, account closure, and export
- Identify what is being deleted.Local notes, synced content, trash, accounts, backups, and recipients’ copies are separate. Uninstalling an app does not necessarily delete them all.
- Test an export with a small sample.Check content, attachments, dates, hierarchy, and links. Export capability does not guarantee restoration of the original interface or collaboration state.
- Check destination permissions.Markdown, PDFs, emails, and downloaded ZIP files may not retain the original app’s encryption and sharing settings.
- Read retention periods and exceptions.Review trash, backups, billing and abuse-prevention records, and deletion-request channels. Closing an account or emptying trash does not establish immediate erasure of every copy held by every provider.
- Follow organizational requirements for work information.Check enabled features, external recipients, administrator access, and approved storage. A count of passed checklist items cannot certify every use as safe.
Choose the privacy condition you actually need
If keeping content off cloud services is the priority, review local storage and sync or plugin traffic. If provider-inaccessible content is required, verify E2EE for the notes you use and plan key recovery. AI features may already be enabled by default; review current settings, included data, processing providers, training policy, and retention.
See the encryption comparison for cryptographic scope and the security comparison for sharing and recovery procedures.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google use Keep notes for advertising?
Google states that Keep content is not used for advertising. It may still process content for features such as search. No advertising use is different from no content processing or E2EE.
If an app does not train AI on my data, does content stay local?
Not necessarily. Generating an answer or summary may send content to an AI processing provider. Check training policy separately from request processing, retention, and included data.
Does using a Proton Mail address make Simple Memo E2EE?
No. Ordinary delivery passes through Simple Memo’s sending API and external delivery provider. Proton Mail storage protection does not convert the whole route to E2EE.
Does local storage mean no data ever leaves the device?
It depends on sync, publishing, plugins, embedded web content, and analytics. Check the features and connections you actually use, not only the core app’s storage model.
Does uninstalling an app delete all my notes and usage data?
Not necessarily. Server accounts, synced content, received email, backups, and recipients’ copies may remain. Check the current policy for deletion scope, retention, and request channels.
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