None declared
None declared
On the label it is low-risk: a Notepad collects some data but says none of it is linked to you or used for tracking. The sensitive items are user content. In total the label lists 2 data types; 25% of encrypted notes apps we checked declare tracking.
a Notepad privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
a Notepad collects some data but says none of it is linked to your identity, and none is used for tracking.
Did a Notepad ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what a Notepad's developer declared.
Location is not on a Notepad's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
a Notepad lists User Content on its label. Choose Limited Access and pick only the photos you want to share.
Contacts is not on a Notepad's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
a Notepad declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.
Health & Fitness is not on a Notepad's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What a Notepad collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| User ContentSensitiveNot linked to you | Messages, photos, videos, audio recordings, documents and support chats you create or upload. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos: choose Limited Access or None; review Microphone and Files access too. |
| Contact InfoNot linked to you | Your name, email address, phone number or postal address. | Use Sign in with Apple with Hide My Email where offered, and check the app's account and marketing preferences. |
What a Notepad's label means for you
a Notepad's label has 2 types under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Every type on a Notepad's label is in the “not linked” section, so the developer says the data is stripped of anything that identifies you before it is used. That is typical of anonymous analytics and crash reporting. Not linked is still collected: the data leaves your phone.
The items that deserve the most attention are user content. This is the content you actually care about. Where it is stored, who can read it and how it is backed up matters more than any other line on the label.
Notes apps quietly collect some of your most personal writing. 'Encrypted' can mean encrypted in transit, at rest on the server, or end-to-end — only the last keeps the developer out. Find which kind of encryption the developer documents, and whether a lost password means lost notes.
Among the 146 encrypted notes apps in our snapshot with a label, 25% declare tracking, 40% collect data linked to you and 40% say they collect nothing. a Notepad lists 2 data types, about the same as the average of 1.8 for this group.
Productivity apps tend to collect the work you do in them — documents, notes and files — so User Content is common. The question is whether it syncs to the developer's servers and how it is protected there.
Settings to check for a Notepad
- 1
Photos
Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. Limited Access lets you pick exactly which pictures the app can see; Add Photos Only lets it save without reading your library.
- 2
Sign-in
When creating an account, Sign in with Apple can give the app a relay address from Hide My Email instead of your real one.
- 3
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 4
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › a Notepad › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does a Notepad track you?
There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on a Notepad's label.
Lock a Notepad behind Face ID
- Find a Notepad on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. a Notepad now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not a Notepad has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About a Notepad
| Developer | Jia Qing Song |
| App Store category | Productivity (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 25.02.12, released February 2025 |
| First released | January 2020 |
| Requires | iOS 11.0 or later |
| Size | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | Not listed |
| Bundle ID | com.anotepad.ios |
The current version shipped in February 2025, over a year before our snapshot. Older apps can lag behind iOS privacy features such as limited photo and contact access.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what a Notepad sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask a Notepad's developer: Who holds the encryption key for my notes?
a Notepad vs similar encrypted notes apps
- Note X
- a Notepad (this app)
- Notepad: notes, checklist
- MeiMe
- ghostmemo
- Thinkspan
- MiNote
- Colored Note
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to a Notepad
All encrypted notes apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect user content → Privacy label decoder →
Your a Notepad privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on a Notepad's label.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: User Content appears on its label, in the Not Linked to You section.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.