Security & Privacy
How Klarinotte keeps your data safe and private.
The short version: Your notes are yours. They're stored locally on your device. When you use sync, your data is end-to-end encrypted before it leaves your device — we cannot read it. We don't track you, profile you, or sell your data.
Local-First Storage
By default, all your data lives exclusively on your device in the browser's IndexedDB — a local database that never leaves your machine:
- Notes, folders, tags, bookmarks, and settings.
- Attachments (images, files).
- Semantic search models and OCR processing run entirely on-device.
We have no access to your locally stored data. If you clear your browser data, local data may be lost — we recommend using the sync feature or maintaining backups via export.
End-to-End Encryption
If you create an account and enable sync, your data is encrypted on your device before upload with AES-256-GCM authenticated encryption. Here is how the keys work:
- Your password is stretched into a key using Argon2id — a modern, memory-hard algorithm chosen specifically to resist brute-force attacks, even if our database were ever stolen.
- That key unwraps a random Master Key, which protects a separate encryption key for each notebook. Your keys live in your browser in a form that cannot be exported, limiting the damage from any single vulnerability.
- A one-time Recovery Key (shown once at signup) lets you regain access if you forget your password.
- We cannot read your notes or attachments — ever.
- Our server operators cannot decrypt your data.
- If you lose both your password and your Recovery Key, we cannot recover your synced data — there is no backdoor. (Your local copy on your device is unaffected.)
Zero Knowledge of Your Content
"Zero-knowledge" is a strong claim, so we will be precise about it. Everything you actually write is encrypted on your device before upload, and our servers only ever store ciphertext they cannot decrypt. But like any sync service, the server does handle some metadata to make syncing work — you deserve an exact picture, not a slogan.
What our servers can never see:
- Note content, titles, and tags
- Folder names and your organizational structure
- Attachment files, filenames, and OCR-extracted text
- Bookmark labels and your search queries
- Device names
- Your password, your encryption keys, or your Recovery Key
What our servers do see (metadata, in order to sync):
- Your account email — for login and account recovery
- Timestamps of when items are created, changed, or deleted — needed to sync in the correct order
- The number, size, and type of encrypted items (a note vs. a folder vs. an attachment) — but never their contents
- Who you share a notebook with — the sharing relationship, not what is inside
None of this metadata reveals what your notes say. We never store your plaintext password — only a one-way, salted, bcrypt-hashed derivative used to verify logins.
Want the full technical detail — key hierarchy, algorithms, and how to verify it yourself? See Encryption Design.
On-Device AI
Both OCR and semantic search are powered by AI models that run entirely in your browser:
- OCR uses a local OCR model — no images are sent to any server.
- Semantic Search uses a local embedding model — no text or queries leave your device.
No Tracking or Profiling
Beyond the encrypted sync described above, we simply don't collect behavioral data:
- No usage analytics, page views, or click tracking
- No behavioral profiling or advertising identifiers
- No third-party tracking cookies
- No selling or sharing of your data — there is nothing readable to sell
Your Rights
- Export your data at any time, in full, in standard Markdown format with attachments.
- Delete your data — locally by clearing browser storage; from servers by deleting your account.
- Use without an account — sync is optional. The full app works without any server connection.
For the complete legal privacy policy, see our Privacy Policy page.