A private notes app that keeps your notes on your device

Gravity is a private notes app in a plain sense: your notes stay on your device, there's no advertising, and you don't need an account to write. Unless you turn on Gravity Sync, what you write never reaches me.

I'm Tristan, and I make Gravity on my own. Notes are where people put the things they don't say out loud, so this page sets out exactly what happens to them.

Your device, no ads

• It doesn't ask you to sign up or log in. You open it and type.
• It has no advertising and no ad tracking.
• The app sends usage events, crash reports and error reports to PostHog, so I can see which features people use, where they get stuck and what breaks. They record things like "a note was archived" or "search found 3 results", the app version and the error. They never contain note text, tags, what you search for or your email address.
• It doesn't sell or share anything.

Syncing is the only thing that sends your notes anywhere, and you have to turn it on. Tapping a link in a note opens it in your browser, as in any other app.

Where your notes are

Your notes are stored in a database on your device. Search runs on the device too, so your searches never leave it.

On iPhone, iPad and Mac you can turn on iCloud sync. It's off until you switch it on. When it's on, your notes sync through a private database in your own iCloud account, which Apple runs. I can't see that database. Apple's standard iCloud security protects it.

On any device, including Android, you can turn on Gravity Sync (Beta) instead. You sign in with Google, Apple or an email code, and Gravity keeps a copy of your library on its servers, run by Cloudflare, so all your signed-in devices stay in step. Notes are encrypted on the way there and while stored. Gravity Sync isn't end-to-end encrypted: the server reads notes to merge edits from your devices and to give you everything back when you sign in on a new phone. You can download the whole library or delete it, account and all, whenever you like.

On Android you can also turn on automatic backups, which save a copy to a folder you choose each day. If that folder is synced by a cloud service, that service's privacy terms apply to the backup.

When you export your notes, as JSON or Markdown, the file goes wherever you send it.

What a private day looks like

Say you use Gravity as a journal. In the morning you write 14 Mar: slept badly, anxious about the review. At lunch you note a symptom to mention to your GP. In the evening you write a few lines about an argument you're still annoyed about.

None of that leaves your phone unless you turn on sync. Nobody is building a profile from it, and there's no "we may use your content to improve our services" clause. Synced notes are stored so your devices can show them, and for nothing else.

If you'd like to try that kind of journal, interstitial journaling is a good place to start.

How it compares

Apple Notes needs an Apple account for sync, lets you lock individual notes with a password or Face ID, and supports Apple's Advanced Data Protection.

Google Keep and Notion store your notes on their servers, tied to your Google or Notion account. That's what makes their sharing and web access work, and it means your notes live with a company.

Obsidian stores notes as local Markdown files and needs an account if you pay for its sync service.

Gravity needs no account on any platform. If you want sync without iCloud, Gravity Sync is optional and uses a sign-in you already have.

Who it's for

Gravity suits people who want to write freely without thinking about who else might see it: journals, health notes, half-formed ideas, the private to-do list. It suits people who want a small, capture-first app with nothing to sign up for.

Questions

Can you read my notes?

Not the notes on your device or in your own iCloud account. I have no access to either. If you turn on Gravity Sync, your synced library is stored on Gravity's servers, encrypted at rest.

Does Gravity collect any data?

Gravity needs no account to write notes and shows no ads. The app sends usage events, crash reports and error reports to PostHog, and performance measurements to Expo. None of them contain note text, tags, search text or your email address. The privacy policy lists exactly what they hold.

What happens to deleted notes?

They go to Deleted Notes first, where you can restore them. Deleting a note permanently also removes it from iCloud or Gravity Sync.

Gravity is on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and on Google Play for Android.