NOTEGEN.Privacy and data
Learn what NoteGen stores locally and which features connect to external services.
NoteGen works without an account. Notes, records, chats, memories, vector indexes, and settings are stored locally by default. Network transfers depend on the features you enable.
Local data
- Markdown files live in the current workspace.
- Images and other local assets use the configured workspace asset directory.
- Records, tags, chats, memories, and activity events are stored in local SQLite databases.
- Model, sync, MCP, and interface settings are stored in local configuration files.
Switching workspaces does not move files from the previous workspace. Create a local ZIP backup before a full migration.
Features that may use the network
| Feature | Data that may be sent | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in free or custom online models | Prompts, selected context, images, audio, or text being processed | The configured model provider |
| Knowledge-base answers | Query text and retrieved note excerpts | Configured chat, embedding, or rerank providers |
| Cloud sync | Markdown, assets, records, chats, canvases, and permitted settings | The selected Git, S3, WebDAV, cloud-folder, or self-hosted service |
| Image hosting | Uploaded images and authentication requests | Selected image host |
| MCP | Tool arguments and context required by the tool | Selected MCP server |
| Web search | Search queries and context needed to process results | Native model search or the selected search provider |
| Web clipper | Selections, images, or page URLs that the user explicitly saves | Local NoteGen; later processing depends on model, image-hosting, and sync settings |
| Update checks | Version and platform request metadata | NoteGen download service or GitHub |
| Anonymous startup analytics | Ephemeral session ID, OS, locale, and app version | NoteGen's Aptabase endpoint |
Startup analytics does not contain note content, file names, file paths, AI chats, or a hardware machine ID.
iCloud Drive sync
On iOS, users can choose to migrate the current workspace to NoteGen's iCloud Drive container. NoteGen copies Markdown files, images, audio, and other workspace files into that container, after which Apple iCloud synchronizes them between devices signed in to the same Apple Account. The original local workspace remains as a safety copy.
NoteGen cannot access the user's Apple Account and does not receive iCloud Drive content through NoteGen servers. The user manages this data through their Apple Account and can view or delete it in iCloud Drive settings or the Files app. Use of this feature is also subject to Apple's iCloud terms and privacy policy.
Sensitive settings and sync
Exclude Sensitive Settings is enabled by default. Tokens, passwords, secrets, the selected sync provider, image-host settings, MCP settings, workspace paths, and other private or device-specific values are excluded. NoteGen asks for confirmation before disabling this protection.
Local services and data deletion
Web Clipper uses 127.0.0.1:37421, and NoteGen's local MCP service uses 127.0.0.1:37422 by default. Both listen only on the current machine, but the MCP Bearer token must still be protected as a workspace credential.
Uninstalling the app normally does not remove a custom Markdown workspace. Databases, configuration, caches, and the default workspace live in the platform application-data location, and uninstall behavior varies. To erase everything, verify a backup, use the separate Clear data and Clear files actions, revoke third-party tokens, and delete unwanted remote repositories, object storage, or self-hosted account data separately.
Clearing application data, clearing files, and deleting remote data are different and may be irreversible. See Install, update, and uninstall.
Recommendations
- For sensitive material, prefer local models, local read-aloud, and local OCR.
- Grant sync and image-host tokens the minimum required permissions.
- Connect only trusted MCP servers; command-based MCP servers can launch local programs.
- After exposing NoteGen through local MCP, review connections and disable the service or reset its token when no longer needed.
- Inspect backups and logs before sharing them.
- Revoke a third-party token when you stop using that service.