Encrypted notes app: what to check before a couple trusts one

A good encrypted notes app scrambles your most sensitive notes so they can only be read with a key that you hold, usually something you set or answer yourself, rather than simply hiding them behind the app's front door. It should be clear about where your notes are kept, who else can reach them, and how to export or delete them. It suits couples sharing a home particularly well, because a shared life throws up a lot of details that are too sensitive for an ordinary notes app but that you still need to find quickly: account references, the alarm code, the boiler's warranty number, the plan for if one of you is ill.

The other half of the job, for couples, is deciding what's shared and what isn't. Encryption protects a note from outsiders. It doesn't decide whether your partner should see it. That's a conversation, not a setting.

What encryption does and doesn't protect

It helps to know what you're buying before you choose.

• Encryption turns a note into unreadable data that can only be turned back with the right key. If someone gets the data without the key, they get nonsense.
• A lock screen or passcode on an app stops someone opening it on your phone. On its own, it doesn't mean the notes underneath are encrypted.
• Where the key lives matters. If the key is something only you know, the notes are much harder for anyone else to read. If the provider holds the key, the provider can, in principle, read them.
• Encryption doesn't protect against you. If you screenshot a note, paste it into a message or read it out on speakerphone, it's out.

So the useful question isn't "is it encrypted?" but "encrypted where, with whose key, and which notes?"

What to look for in an encrypted notes app

1. Encryption for the notes that matter. You may not need every shopping list encrypted, but sensitive notes should be, with a key you set.
2. A key you can remember and nobody can guess. Avoid anything your partner, family or social media followers could work out. Also think about what happens if you forget it.
3. Clear hosting. The app should say which country your account is hosted in and name any outside companies that handle your data.
4. Nothing sold or used for ads. Sensitive notes are no place for an ad business.
5. Export. You should be able to take everything out in a readable form, in case you switch tools or need a copy.
6. Delete that means delete. Individual notes and the whole account, with a clear statement of what happens afterwards.
7. Separate private and shared. If you share anything with your partner, it should be a deliberate choice, one thing at a time, not a whole shared notebook by default.
8. Search for the rest. The everyday household notes should be quick to find, or you'll go back to scraps of paper on the fridge.

What a couple should keep separate, and what to share

A simple way to sort it is three piles.

Private to each of you: personal journal entries, your own health notes, anything about your own family or friends that isn't yours to share, and the answers to your own security questions.

Shared and sensitive: the alarm code, the home Wi-Fi password, policy numbers for the home insurance, the mortgage or tenancy reference, the boiler and appliance warranty numbers, and where the important documents are kept. Both of you should be able to reach these in an emergency.

Shared and everyday: the shopping list, the bin day, the packing list for the weekend away, the to-do list for the spare room. These don't need encryption, just a place you both look.

A few rules of thumb help:

• Never keep full bank card numbers or online banking passwords in plain notes. Use the security your bank provides.
• Write where something is, not always what it is. "Passports: top drawer, blue folder" is useful and gives little away.
• Agree what happens if one of you is ill or away: who can get to the shared sensitive pile, and how.

Our guides to the important documents checklist and the household bills checklist help with what belongs on the shared list.

How to set one up in 20 minutes

This works with any notes tool that offers encryption.

1. Read the privacy page together (4 minutes). Find where it's hosted, who can access notes, and how export and delete work.
2. Set your keys (3 minutes). Each of you sets your own, privately. Don't share them, and don't pick anything the other could guess.
3. Make your three piles (5 minutes). Private, shared sensitive and shared everyday. Agree what goes in the middle one.
4. Move the sensitive things first (5 minutes). Take the alarm code, policy numbers and account references out of ordinary notes, texts and emails and put them in the encrypted space. Then delete the old copies.
5. Test export and access (3 minutes). Export one note and open it. Check you can each get to what you need.

Then set a reminder every few months to tidy up: old codes changed, policies renewed, numbers out of date.

How mylife/ handles sensitive notes

In mylife/, a vault, locked with your own answers, encrypts sensitive notes on your phone. Nothing you keep in mylife/ is sold or used for ads, and your account is hosted in the EU, in Paris. You can export everything or delete your account whenever you like.

For the shared side of a home, you can add friends by username and keep shared shopping, packing and to-do lists, and you choose what each friend can see, one friend at a time. There's more on privacy in mylife/ and on the plans, each starting with a 3-day free trial.

Common mistakes with encrypted notes

• Assuming a passcode means encryption. Check what the app actually says it encrypts.
• Using a guessable key. Anniversaries, pets' names and the house number are the first things anyone close to you would try.
• Leaving old copies behind. Moving the alarm code into an encrypted note doesn't help if it's still in a text thread from two years ago.
• Encrypting everything. If the shopping list needs a key, you'll stop using it. Keep encryption for what's sensitive.
• Sharing by default. One shared notebook for everything means your private notes end up in it eventually.
• No plan for emergencies. If only one of you can reach the shared sensitive pile, it isn't really shared.

If you also keep a diary and want it just as private, see our guide to choosing a private journal app.

Frequently asked questions

What is an encrypted notes app?

It's a notes app that scrambles your notes so they can only be read with the right key. The best ones let you hold the key yourself, so the notes stay unreadable to anyone without it. A lock screen on its own isn't the same thing, so check what the app actually encrypts.

Are notes on my phone encrypted?

It depends on your phone's settings and the app you use. Many phones protect stored data when the phone is locked, but that doesn't always mean each note is encrypted with a key only you know. If a note is sensitive, use a tool that clearly says it encrypts it.

Should couples share passwords?

That's up to each couple, but it helps to separate personal accounts from household ones. Shared household details, such as the alarm code or policy numbers, are worth keeping somewhere you can both reach in an emergency. Personal and banking passwords are better kept to yourself.

What happens if I forget the key to my encrypted notes?

If the key is something only you know, the notes may not be recoverable without it, which is the point of encryption. Choose something memorable and check what the app says about recovery before you put anything important in.

Can I get a copy of the data a notes app holds about me?

Under UK GDPR you can ask any organisation for a copy of your personal data with a subject access request. It normally has one month to respond. The ICO explains how to make one.