Privacy policy.

01Who we are

Noteya is a notes app made by Meticulous Labs, who are responsible for the information described here. This policy covers Noteya on the web at noteya.uk, the Noteya app for Windows, and this page.

For privacy questions, or to see, correct or delete your information, email hello@noteya.uk.

02What Noteya keeps

On your computer, for everyone

Your notes, folders, shelves, pictures and settings, the words you've looked up or saved in the dictionary, and small things like which notes you had open. On the website they're kept in your browser's storage; in the Windows app, in Noteya's own folder. That's what lets Noteya open instantly and work offline.

As a guest

That's all there is. Your notes never leave your computer, and there's no account. They're only as safe as that computer: clearing the browser's data or uninstalling the app removes them, so take a backup now and then (Settings → Backups).

With an account

You sign in with Google. Noteya then also keeps:

• Your account details from Google: your name, email address, a link to your profile picture, and an account ID. Google handles the sign-in itself; Noteya never sees your password.
• Your notes in the cloud: your folders (their names, colours and icons), shelves and the order they're in, your notes (titles, writing and the pictures in them, plus things like pins and word goals) and what's in Recently deleted. They're compressed and kept in your own space in the cloud. Your settings (theme, accent, text size and so on) stay on each computer and are never uploaded.
• Usage counts, so we can keep Noteya running within its limits and spot problems: when you last used Noteya, and how often it opened, saved and fetched changes each day; how much it sent to and received from the cloud; how many notes and folders you have and how much space they take; and, for each computer you use, a random ID, a name like "Windows · Edge" and when it was last seen. None of your writing is in these counts.

Technical information

Cloudflare (which serves noteya.uk and this page) and Google receive what any website or online service receives, such as your IP address and browser details, to deliver the service and keep it secure. If you email us, we receive your email address and your message.

Noteya has no adverts, no analytics and no tracking cookies. It doesn't use your camera, microphone, location or contacts.

03How it's used and shared

We use your information to sign you in, keep your notes the same on every computer you use, keep Noteya running and secure, and answer you when you get in touch. Nothing else. We do this to provide the service you asked for, and because we have a legitimate interest in keeping Noteya working and safe.

• Google Firebase: Firebase Authentication signs you in; Cloud Firestore keeps your notes in the cloud and their usage counts. Google processes this information to provide and secure those services.
• Cloudflare: serves noteya.uk and this page.
• Dictionaries: when you look up a word, Noteya sends only that word to the Free Dictionary API, and to Wiktionary (run by the Wikimedia Foundation) when it needs more; "Did you mean" suggestions come from Wiktionary too. Like any website, they see your IP address, but never your notes. Entries are kept on your computer, so words you've looked up work offline.
• Pictures from other websites: when a note shows a picture that lives on another website (for example, in a document you imported), your computer loads it from that website, which sees your IP address, as with any web page. Noteya keeps its own copy when the website allows it.
• Importing and exporting happen on your computer: files you bring in or take out aren't sent to us.
• The Microsoft Store installs and updates the Windows app. Microsoft's privacy statement covers that.
• Meticulous Labs: as Noteya's maker, we can access the cloud database, because it isn't end-to-end encrypted. We don't read your notes, except to help with a problem you've asked us about, or when the law requires it. Our private dashboard shows each account's name, email address and usage counts, and keeps its latest copy on the owner's own computer, not online.
• Legal requests: information may be disclosed where the law requires it, or where it's needed to investigate abuse or protect people, limited to what's needed.

We don't sell your information, and we never use it for advertising.

04Where it's stored and how it's protected

Your notes in the cloud are stored by Google in its data centres in Europe. Google processes sign-in information in the United States, and Cloudflare serves the website from its network around the world, so some processing happens outside your country. See Firebase's privacy and security information, including its data-protection terms.

Everything travels encrypted. The cloud's access rules let only your own account read or write your notes. This isn't end-to-end encryption: Meticulous Labs can access the database, as described above.

On your computer, Noteya doesn't encrypt its copy separately, so keep your computer and its accounts protected. Signing out saves your notes to the cloud, then removes them from that computer. In the Windows app, Noteya's folder is removed when you uninstall it.

05How long it's kept

• Notes and folders: until you delete them. Deleted ones wait in Recently deleted for 30 days, so you can bring them back, then they're removed for good, from the cloud too. What's left is a small marker with none of your writing in it, so your other computers know to remove that note as well.
• Your account, its usage counts and your notes in the cloud: until your account is deleted.
• The dictionary keeps your last 500 looked-up entries on your computer, plus any words you save.
• Emails you send us are kept while we deal with them, and for as long as the law requires.

After we delete an account, Google's own retention applies: Firebase keeps sign-in IP logs for a few weeks, and removes the rest of the sign-in information from its live and backup systems within 180 days. See Firebase's retention information.

07Your choices and rights

• Use Noteya as a guest, and your notes never leave your computer.
• Take your notes with you at any time, with Import and export or a backup from Settings.
• Edit or delete your notes whenever you like, and sign out on any computer.

You can ask us to see, correct, delete or hand over your information, or to limit or stop how we use it, under the privacy law where you live (in the UK, the UK GDPR). If you're not happy with our answer, you can complain to your data-protection authority; in the UK, that's the Information Commissioner's Office.

08Children

Noteya is for people aged 13 and over. It isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information. If you think a child under 13 has an account, email us and we'll remove it.

09Changes to this policy

When what Noteya does with your information changes, we'll update this page and its date, and point out important changes in the app before they take effect.

This page has no analytics, cookies or forms. Its print button works on your device alone.