A private notes app — what we do and don't promise
Encrypted at rest, no AI, no ads, full export, real deletion — and not end-to-end encrypted. The whole ledger, including the unflattering row.
The problem: Reading the fine print of privacy policies
When a note-taking app advertises itself as "private", what exactly do they mean?
For a massive corporation, "private" usually just means they won't publicly publish your grocery lists. But if you read the fine print, you'll discover that they still scan your text for advertising keywords, they train their latest LLM on your meeting notes, and they make it incredibly difficult to actually delete your account when you decide to leave. You are the product.
On the other end of the spectrum are the zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) vaults. These are genuinely private, but that absolute security comes with a massive usability tax. If you lose your master password, your notes are mathematically gone forever. And because the server can't read anything, simple features like fast search or seamless conflict resolution become painfully slow or broken.
Most people don't need a zero-knowledge vault, but they definitely don't want their personal thoughts strip-mined for AI training data.
The solution: Honest privacy, plainly stated
Benchpad is private the way a well-run service is private. It is encrypted at rest with a per-user key, has zero AI, no training data, no ads, full data export, and real account deletion.
It is a sharp, quiet tool, and you are the customer, not the product.
It is not end-to-end encrypted, and you should hear that in the first paragraph rather than having to infer it on page 12 of a privacy policy.
The privacy ledger
Here is exactly what we do and don't promise:
| Claim | Benchpad |
|---|---|
| Encrypted in transit | Yes (TLS) |
| Encrypted at rest | Yes — per-user content key |
| End-to-end encrypted | No |
| AI reads your notes | Never — there is no AI in the product |
| Notes used for training | Never |
| Ads or data sale | Never — revenue is $10/year subscriptions |
| Export | Markdown, plain text, or HTML, any time |
| Account deletion | Real: notes, attachments, account |
Our business model is our privacy policy. You pay a flat $10 a year, which means your attention and your words don't have to be the product.
What "encrypted at rest" actually protects
Your pad content is encrypted before it is stored in our database, keyed uniquely to your user account. If a database backup was stolen, or a curious bystander somehow gained access, they would only get ciphertext.
What it does not protect against is an operator of our own servers—whether malicious or legally compelled. That level of protection requires true end-to-end encryption (E2EE), where only your devices hold the key.
We deliberately don't offer E2EE because it collides with things Benchpad prioritizes: instant sign-in-and-go sync, character-level conflict resolution when you edit offline, and painless account recovery when you lose a device. That's a trade-off, and we state it openly. If your threat model requires protecting against the server operators themselves, use Standard Notes—we wrote that comparison ourselves, and we are honest about where they beat us.
Privacy you can feel in the product
No AI, no analysis — a drawer, not a reader
- No AI anywhere: Nothing is reading your words in the background trying to be "helpful."
- Offline-first: Notes live on your device first. The app is fully usable with your network completely turned off, meaning your data stays strictly local until it needs to sync.
- No engagement machinery: There is no feed, there are no streaks, and we do not send you automated emails built by analyzing how you use the app.
Leaving is part of it
Privacy includes the exit door.
Everything you write in Benchpad is standard markdown. You can export the whole lot as Markdown, plain text, or HTML whenever you like. Hitting "Delete Account" in Settings permanently removes your notes, your attachments, and you.
There is no secret 90-day retention period we haven't told you about, and there is no export window that closes.
Honest privacy, plainly priced
Stronger privacy than the big free apps. Weaker security than a zero-knowledge vault. Clear about which is which—which is the part most privacy pages skip.
One pad is free forever; Pro is $10/year.
Related: A note app without AI · Benchpad vs Standard Notes · Benchpad vs Google Keep
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Benchpad end-to-end encrypted?
No. Notes are encrypted at rest on the server with a per-user key, which protects against database leaks and snooping, but it is not zero-knowledge E2EE. If E2EE is a hard requirement, Standard Notes or Notesnook are better choices, and our comparison pages say so.
Does Benchpad read, analyze, or train AI on my notes?
No. There are no AI features, no content analysis, no ad targeting, and notes are never training data. The server's job is to store encrypted content and pass sync updates along.
Can I get my data out or delete it completely?
Yes. Export everything as Markdown, plain text, or HTML from Settings at any time. Account deletion is built into Settings and erases your notes, attachments, and account — not a soft delete.
Get Benchpad
On every platform
Native apps for iPhone & Android, and a Mac menu bar & Windows tray app — same three pads, offline-first, synced everywhere.