this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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Privacy
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I would recommend Joplin, for these reasons:
When looking for software in general, write down what you are looking for and what your requirements are. Then, consider if there are any conflicting requirements (e.g. "I want my handwritten notes to be transcribed, but I don't want any kind of handwriting recognition"). From there, you can make tough decisions or find a compromise. Then, think about any problems that may arise in the future. Do you plan to switch operating systems to something like GrapheneOS? Do you want to move away from cloud storage altogether? From there, you can get a good idea of what to look for. Good luck!
Thanks a bunch for the suggestion, I will definitely check out Joplin's E2EE syncing. I guess I should have been more specific; I'm looking more for a way to store and synchronize notes, rather than a tool to edit them. Given that my notes are all nearly all text, most of the time I edit notes using vim or vscodium.
You should probably try moving away from this practice. First, this leaves your notes vulnerable as they are not encrypted at rest. Second, those programs are not designed for private notes, meaning there is the potential for various leaks to happen that you may not even be able to catch (temporary system files, etc.). Using a dedicated notes editor (like Joplin) means you are using something designed to keep your notes confidential.
Disclaimer: In the case of Joplin specifically, the developers take issue with implementing encryption at rest. Their philosophy is "If your computer's disk is encrypted, then all your notes are already encrypted at rest." This is flawed thinking for many reasons that I won't get into here.
If you don't mind I am curious to hear your reasons. I personally agree with the developer, I think it's a lot of work and doesn't provide a meaningful win. If an attacker has access to the system, there are many other ways they can access your notes even if the notes are encrypted at rest. Based on the thread it sounds like what people actually want is isolation and access control, but I don't think that responsibility should fall on the app developer, it should be handled by a broader system (like Veracrypt, or Flatpak).
For the same reasons KeePassXC encrypt their databases and Signal got backlash for storing encryption keys in plaintext. Encryption doesn't protect against everything, but it is a big deterrent against many attacks.
KeePassXC and Signal are regarded as security products. Joplin is not, and I doubt the developer wants it to be. If we push for every product developer to bake their own security systems, we will end up with half-baked products and half-baked security. If people want better isolation between apps, they should choose an OS that does so, or push for one if it doesn't exist.