None declared
None declared
Mostly a question of trust: F·NOTES collects data linked to you but declares no tracking. The sensitive items are user content. In total the label lists 3 data types; 25% of encrypted notes apps we checked declare tracking.
F·NOTES 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.
F·NOTES collects 3 data types tied to your identity but declares no tracking.
Did F·NOTES ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what F·NOTES' developer declared.
Location is not on F·NOTES' 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.
F·NOTES lists User Content on its label, linked to you. Choose Limited Access and pick only the photos you want to share.
Contacts is not on F·NOTES' 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.
F·NOTES 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 F·NOTES' 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 F·NOTES collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| User ContentSensitiveLinked 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 InfoLinked 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. |
| IdentifiersLinked to you | An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted. |
What F·NOTES' label means for you
F·NOTES' label has 3 types under “Data 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.
F·NOTES declares no tracking, which means the developer says it does not combine your data with other companies' data for advertising or sell it to data brokers. The data linked to you — user content, contact info and identifiers — is still tied to your identity, typically through an account, and is covered by the developer's privacy policy and retention rules.
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. F·NOTES lists 3 data types, more than 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 F·NOTES
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
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.
- 3
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › F·NOTES › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does F·NOTES track you?
There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on F·NOTES' label.
Lock F·NOTES behind Face ID
- Find F·NOTES 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. F·NOTES now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not F·NOTES has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About F·NOTES
| Developer | Nathan Fast |
| App Store category | Productivity (also Education) |
| Latest version | 1.1, released May 2026 |
| First released | May 2026 |
| Requires | iOS 17.0 or later |
| Size | Not listed |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 1 (EN) |
| Bundle ID | com.fastnathan.f-notes |
The current version shipped in May 2026. That is recent enough that the label should reflect current practices, but check the App Store page again before relying on it.
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 F·NOTES 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 F·NOTES' developer: Who holds the encryption key for my notes?
F·NOTES vs similar encrypted notes apps
- Isy.AI
- F·NOTES (this app)
- Instant PGP
- Vaurec
- Secure X
- Simple Text Notes
- Cheetah 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 F·NOTES
All encrypted notes apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect user content → Privacy label decoder →
Your F·NOTES 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 F·NOTES' 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.
- 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.