Everything you need to know.

Is Catchlight truly private?

Yes. Your Takes are encrypted on your device using a 12-word Privacy phrase that only you hold. Catchlight, and Considus, never have access to your data. We can't read your Takes, and we can't recover them if you lose your Privacy phrase. We never see them, store them, or ask for them.

Will I need to create an account?

No. No account, no email and no password, nothing. You receive a 12-word Privacy phrase on first launch. That's your key. It belongs to you alone.

Can I get locked out of my own notes?

Not by a login, because there isn't one. No email, no password to reset, no verification code that turns up three minutes too late. If your subscription ends, every Take stays readable and exportable, so you're not locked out for not paying either. The only way in is your 12-word Privacy phrase, and that cuts both ways, I can't reset it for you, nobody can, which is exactly why nobody else can read your Takes. Keep it somewhere safe and you're set.

Does Catchlight put AI in my notes?

No. Catchlight has no AI of its own, and Apple's AI "Writing Tools" stay off in the editor unless you turn on the "Writing Tools" setting under Security. If you do want them, you can choose a panel or full inline editing. Off is the default because the default should always be the most private option, and you decide from there.

Could I lose my Takes?

Not by accident, if I've done my job. Deleting a Take asks first, and you can turn that off. If the same Take has changed in two places, Catchlight shows you both versions side by side and you choose which to keep. Your Takes sit encrypted in your own cloud folder, and you can export the lot to Markdown whenever you like. The one thing I can't protect you from is losing your 12 words with no copy. There's no reset, because a reset would mean someone else holds a key.

Can Apple read my notes?

On a standard iCloud account, in effect yes, Apple holds the keys to your Notes and can access them or be compelled to. Only Advanced Data Protection makes them end-to-end encrypted, and new UK users can't enable it. Catchlight is different, every Take is encrypted on your device with a key only you hold, so we genuinely can't read them. Apple's own per-note lock is real and worth using, and how iPhone locks a note covers what it protects and what it leaves out.

What's the most private notes app for iPhone?

The most private setup is one where the company can't read your notes and you don't need an account at all. That's what Catchlight is built to be, zero-knowledge by default, encrypted on your device with a 12-word Privacy phrase only you hold, no sign-up, and it works offline. Others are strong too, we compare them on our compare pages.

Do I need an account to use a private notes app?

Not with Catchlight. Many privacy-focused apps still ask for an email and a subscription, but Catchlight needs no account, no email and no password. You get a 12-word Privacy phrase on first launch, and that's the only key to your data.

What happens if I lose my phone?

Your Takes are in your cloud folder, encrypted, and your 12 words unlock them. Set Catchlight up on the new phone, choose "I already use Catchlight", enter the phrase, then point it at the same folder, and everything comes back as the folder syncs. If you chose to keep everything on the device instead, there's nothing to come back from, which is why the app makes you confirm that choice rather than sliding past it.

Doesn't my iPhone backup cover me?

No, and that one is deliberate. Catchlight's database and the key that opens it are both marked as excluded from device backups, so they never travel to Apple or anywhere else, which is the whole point of the design and does cost you a safety net you probably assumed was there. Restore an iPhone from a backup and your Takes don't come back. Your cloud folder plus your Privacy phrase is the way home and it's the only one.

What's a Take?

A Take is the only kind of thing in Catchlight. It can be a note, a task, a reminder, or all three at once, you decide, and you can change your mind at any time. There's no separate notes app, tasks app, or reminders app. One place for everything.

Can I use Catchlight without internet?

Yes. Catchlight is offline-first, every feature works without network access. Cloud sync is optional, you choose a folder through the Files app, on iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Internxt, Koofr or Filen. Catchlight runs no cloud of its own.

Does Catchlight do proper reminders?

Yes, and they do more than buzz at a set time. A reminder can repeat hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, or only on weekdays, weekends or the days you pick. Snooze it from the notification for whatever default you've chosen, anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours. Ignore it and it nudges you again, up to 3 times, unless you'd rather it didn't (there's a switch for that). It can go off when you arrive somewhere or leave, not only at a time. On a checklist, the reminder names only what's still left to do, and a one-off reminder for a finished list doesn't go off at all.

Can I use Catchlight on more than one device?

Not at the same time, yet. At launch, Catchlight syncs one iPhone to a folder you own, on iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Internxt, Koofr or Filen. Moving to a new phone is covered: enter your 12 words, point it at the same folder, and your Takes come back. Using two devices side by side, with edits flowing both ways, is the next thing I'm building, and I'd rather ship it when it's right than claim it before it is. There's no Mac or Android app yet.

Does Catchlight support Markdown?

For getting things in and out, yes. Export every Take, or just one, as Markdown, and bring in Markdown, plain-text or RTF files. Inside a Take, text and checklists mix freely, the way they do in Apple Notes. Inline formatting (bold, headings and the rest) isn't there yet. It's on the roadmap, and I'm still working out how it should sit alongside checklists before I build it.

How flexible is Catchlight?

Extremely. Wherever there's a decision to be made about the privacy of your thoughts, we give you the choice. Anywhere we can adjust the user interface, we give you the controls. Our privacy-first ethos means default settings are always the most privacy focused, but this is your data, so you get to choose.

Can I save my ideas quickly?

Yes. We've worked hard to ensure Catchlight doesn't get in your way. From the lock screen, via widgets, you can go from locked to typing in around 2 seconds and we don't launch the app, so no interruption if you were in the middle of something. You also have options for Home-screen and control centre widgets, all of which follow the same speedy approach.

How is Catchlight different from Apple Notes?

Apple Notes stores your data in iCloud, which for most people, Apple can access. Catchlight uses "zero-knowledge" encryption, so your data is encrypted on your device with a key only you hold, and if you turn on sync, only encrypted files reach a folder you own. We never see it, read it or sell it. Catchlight brings together notes, tasks and reminders in one item. You never need to decide up-front where a thought goes or even what it is.

Compare Catchlight with other apps →

How does it compare to Standard Notes or Notesnook?

Both are privacy-focused, just like Catchlight. But they require an account and, for most features, a subscription. Catchlight requires no account, uses a local Privacy phrase for encryption and unifies notes, tasks and reminders in one.

Compare Catchlight with other apps →

Is Catchlight open source?

Yes. Catchlight is published in a public repo on Considus GitHub and it's open source under the standard Apache 2.0 licence. You can read, verify and reuse every line. Anyone can see exactly how the encryption works and that we really don't harvest any data. Privacy you verify is always better than privacy left to trust. What open source does and doesn't get you is worth knowing before you lean on it, and we've written it up in what open source actually buys you.

When does it launch, and on what?

Catchlight launches first on iPhone (iOS 18 and later). It's pre-launch today, join the list and we'll email you the day it's ready and you'll get extra time on the free trial. Other platforms are planned to follow.

What will it cost?

Catchlight isn't free, and we'd rather be clear about why. The only funding source for the app is the people who use it. No ads, no investors chasing a return, and we will never sell your data (we don't even have any). It's a simple annual subscription, around £14.99 a year, with a real free trial (14 days, plus an extra month for early waitlist members). And if you ever decide to stop paying, your Takes stay readable and exportable, you're never locked out of your own thoughts.

What happens to my Takes if I stop paying?

They stay yours. You can still open, read and export every one, you just can't add or edit Takes until you subscribe again, and when you do, everything picks up where you left off. I can't stand apps that hold old notes behind a paywall, so I made sure Catchlight can't. Exports are Markdown, which opens in pretty much anything.

Is my data locked in?

No. Catchlight gives you control and you have three options. You can export a single Take, all Takes in a single markdown file or use cloud storage to save an encrypted version. Even if you decide Catchlight isn't for you, we don't hold your thoughts hostage.