Privacy Policy

The short version

• ZenNotes for iPhone and iPad is a local-first notes app. Your notes are Markdown files kept on your device.
• Without ZenNotes Cloud, we do not collect, transmit, or store your notes or any personal information, and the app needs no ZenNotes account.
• ZenNotes Cloud is optional and requires an account. If you use it, your account and the notes you sync, back up, or publish are handled as described in the Cloud privacy policy.
• If you enable iCloud, your notes sync through your own iCloud account, which only you and Apple can access, never us.
• There are no analytics, no advertising, and no third-party tracking SDKs in the app.

Who this policy covers

For hosted accounts, Sync, Backup, and Publish, read the separate Cloud privacy policy.

This Privacy Policy applies to the ZenNotes mobile application for iOS and iPadOS (“ZenNotes,” “the app,” “we,” or “our”). ZenNotes is open-source software built around the idea that you own your files. The self-hosted server follows the same principle, and so do the desktop apps, apart from the anonymous install and update count described in The desktop apps below. This page is written for the mobile app you may have installed from the App Store.

Information we collect

Without ZenNotes Cloud, none. To be specific:

• No account or personal details. The app works without a sign-up, login, or user profile. We ask for your name and email address only if you create a ZenNotes Cloud account, and never for your phone number.
• No usage analytics or telemetry. The app contains no analytics SDKs. We do not measure which features you use, how often you open the app, or anything else about your activity.
• No advertising or tracking. There are no ads, no advertising identifiers, and no third-party trackers. ZenNotes does not use Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework because it has nothing to track.
• No crash or diagnostic collection by us. We do not operate a crash-reporting service. If you have opted in to share diagnostics with Apple at the system level, Apple may share anonymized crash data with developers (see “Apple and the App Store” below).

With ZenNotes Cloud, we keep the data listed in the Cloud privacy policy.

The desktop apps

The ZenNotes desktop app sends zennotes.org one message when it is installed, and one more each time it updates. The message says whether the app was installed or updated, and gives the app version, the operating system, the processor architecture, and how the app was installed (for example a dmg, an AppImage, or the AUR). It carries no identifier and nothing about your notes, your vaults, or your account.

• Each message adds one to a total for that day. The daily totals are all we keep; the message itself is not stored.
• The address the message comes from is not stored, and nothing on our side uses it to tell one copy from another. As with any request to the site, our hosting and security providers may keep request records such as IP addresses under their own policies.
• The count is on by default. To turn it off, open Settings > About and switch off “Count this copy anonymously.” A copy with it off never sends the message.

The cover picker’s Unsplash tab, in the desktop app and the web app, searches Unsplash’s free photos with an Unsplash access key of your own, which you create at unsplash.com/developers and paste into Settings. Searches go from your computer or your browser straight to Unsplash. zennotes.org is not involved and receives nothing: not your searches, not your key, not the photos you pick.

• The app sends Unsplash only what you type in that tab, a page number and your key. Unsplash handles it under Unsplash’s privacy policy and its API terms, which you accepted when you created your key.
• Your key stays with you. The desktop app keeps it in your system’s secure storage and the web app in your browser; neither sends it anywhere but Unsplash, and Clear in Settings removes it.
• When you make a photo a note’s cover, the app tells Unsplash that the photo was used, as Unsplash asks of every app. Nothing about you or your note goes with it.
• The photo stays on Unsplash: your note links to it, so showing that note asks Unsplash for the picture the way a web page would.
• Without a key the tab sends nothing, and the Covers tab (gradients, the gallery and your own images) never goes online.

The mobile apps send nothing of the kind.

Your notes and content

Everything you create in ZenNotes (notes, folders, tags, tasks, attachments, and app settings) is stored locally on your device as plain files. Without ZenNotes Cloud, no ZenNotes server is involved, so your content is never transmitted to us and never leaves your control. We have no way to read it. If you turn on Cloud, what you sync is stored as described in the Cloud privacy policy.

iCloud sync

If you enable iCloud for ZenNotes, your notes sync between your own Apple devices through your personal iCloud account.

• This sync is handled entirely by Apple. Your notes live in your iCloud, under your Apple ID, and are subject to Apple’s iCloud security and Apple’s Privacy Policy.
• Without ZenNotes Cloud, ZenNotes never receives, reads, or keeps a copy of your iCloud data. The app simply asks iOS to keep your local files in its iCloud container; Apple does the rest.
• You can turn iCloud sync off at any time in iOS Settings, and manage or delete your iCloud data directly from your Apple device.

Device permissions

ZenNotes only asks for a permission when a feature you use needs it, and anything you grant is used only for that feature. For example, if the app requests access to your photos, files, or camera to attach an image to a note, whatever you select or capture is stored inside your notes on your device (and your iCloud, if sync is enabled). It reaches us only if you sync or publish it with ZenNotes Cloud.

Third-party services

ZenNotes does not embed advertising networks, analytics providers, or third-party tracking libraries. Without ZenNotes Cloud, the only external service involved is Apple’s iCloud, and only if you choose to enable sync. Your use of iCloud and the App Store is governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy. ZenNotes Cloud and the providers it uses are described in the Cloud privacy policy.

Apple and the App Store

When you download or use ZenNotes from the App Store, Apple may collect certain information as part of operating the App Store and its developer tools: for example, aggregate download counts and, if you have opted in, anonymized crash and usage data shared with developers through App Store Connect. This information is collected by Apple, not by us, and is governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy. Any crash data Apple shares with us is aggregated and not linked to your identity.

Data security

Without ZenNotes Cloud, your notes never leave your device or your personal iCloud, so their security rests on protections you already trust: your device’s passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, and on-device encryption, plus Apple’s iCloud security if you enable sync. We recommend keeping a device passcode enabled. Without Cloud, we hold none of your data, so there is no ZenNotes account or server for an attacker to compromise.

Your control over your data

• Delete a note and it is removed from your device (and your iCloud, if sync is on).
• Delete the app to remove its local data from that device; iCloud copies can be managed or removed from iOS Settings under iCloud.
• Turn iCloud sync on or off at any time in iOS Settings.

Without ZenNotes Cloud, we collect no personal data, so there is nothing held by us to request, export, or delete. If you use Cloud, the Cloud privacy policy explains how to download or delete what it holds.

Children’s privacy

ZenNotes is a general-purpose notes app and is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and without ZenNotes Cloud the app collects no personal information from anyone.

Your rights (GDPR, CCPA, and similar)

Privacy laws such as the GDPR and the CCPA give you rights to access, correct, or delete the personal data a company holds about you, and to know whether it is sold. Without ZenNotes Cloud, ZenNotes does not collect, store, sell, or share any personal data, so there is no such data on our side to access or delete. If you use Cloud, you can exercise these rights for the data it holds as described in the Cloud privacy policy. You retain full, direct control of your notes on your own device and iCloud at all times.

Changes to this policy

If we change how ZenNotes handles data, we will update this page and revise the “Last updated” date above. Because the app is open source, any change is also visible in the project’s public history. Material changes will be noted here.

Contact

Questions about privacy in ZenNotes? Reach us through the project’s public channels:

• GitHub: open an issue at github.com/ZenNotes/zennotes.
• Discord: join the community.