A truly private notes app for Mac
“Private” shouldn't be a policy promise. It should be how the software is built. Locus keeps your notes in a readable file on your own Mac — no account, no cloud, no one reading over your shoulder.
Most notes apps ask you to trust a privacy policy. Locus asks you to trust arithmetic: an app with no account system and no sync servicecannot leak, mine, or train on what you write. Here's the checklist we think any genuinely private notes app has to pass — and how Locus passes it.
The private-notes checklist
01No account
If an app requires a login, your notes are already someone else's row in a database. Locus has no sign-up because it has nothing to sign you up for.
02No network
The honest version of “we don't read your notes” is an app that can't. Locus ships without networking code — nothing to phone home with.
03A file you can read
Private also means yours later. Locus stores your workspace as human-readable JSON you can open in any text editor, decades from now.
04A way out
Markdown, HTML, and PDF export for any page — or the whole workspace at once. Lock-in is a privacy problem wearing a business model.
05Protection from yourself
Daily backups, up to 60 version snapshots per page, and 30 days of grace for deleted pages. Private shouldn't mean fragile.
Privacy doesn't have to mean austerity. Locus is a full block editor — slash commands, to-dos, tables, code with syntax colors, covers, backlinks, 22 themes. If you're weighing it against the big cloud tools, the Notion comparison is the honest version, and local-first notes explains the philosophy underneath.
Questions people ask
Is Locus encrypted? Can I lock it?+
Two layers, honestly separated: App Lock (Settings → Privacy) gates the app behind Touch ID, Apple Watch, or your Mac password — including the menu bar capture — with an optional lock on app-switch. Encryption at rest is FileVault's job: it covers your workspace with everything else on disk. Because there's no sync and no server, there's nothing in transit to intercept.
How is this different from Apple Notes with iCloud off?+
Philosophically, it's close — and Apple Notes is genuinely good. Locus adds a block editor (to-dos, tables, code, toggles), Markdown that expands as you type, backlinks between pages, themes, and a workspace file you can actually open and read.
Can I keep my notes in Time Machine / my own backup tool?+
Yes — that's the point. Your workspace is a normal file in Application Support. Anything that backs up your disk backs up your notes, with no special integration needed.
What is the free notes app without login?+
On the Mac, Apple Notes (with iCloud off) and Locus are the honest answers — both work with no account at all. Locus adds the block editor, Markdown, backlinks, and a workspace file you can read and export, while staying just as login-free.
Which notes app works fully offline?+
Any truly local-first app — for Locus, offline isn't a mode, it's the architecture. No connection is used for anything: writing, search, backlinks, exports, and backups all happen on your Mac.
Does “free while in development” mean my notes are the product?+
No. There is no account, no analytics service, and no way for your writing to leave your Mac unless you export it. The product is the app; the notes are yours.
Free while in development · macOS 14 or later