Catchlight vs Evernote.
Evernote is a cloud service first, so it wants an account and stores your notebooks on servers it can read. Catchlight stores nothing of yours, every note, task and reminder is encrypted on your device with a key only you hold.
Evernote helped invent the modern notes app, and it’s still capable. But it’s a cloud service first, which means an account, your notes on someone else’s servers, and a company that can read them. This is the honest case for when that’s fine, and when you’d want something private by design instead.
At a glance. The short version.
| Catchlight | Evernote | |
|---|---|---|
| Account needed | None. Ever. | Evernote account required |
| End-to-end encrypted | Yes, on device, always | No, Evernote holds the keys |
| Where data lives | Your device, optional sync via a folder you own | Evernote’s cloud servers |
| Notes, tasks & reminders | One unified Take, with notifications | Notes and Tasks, reminders attached |
| Price | One flat ~£14.99/yr | Limited free tier, then a subscription |
| Verify the privacy | Read the source on GitHub | Trust the policy |
| Who owns it | Considus, a small independent studio | Owned by Bending Spoons |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 18+), more planned | Cross-platform |
Evernote handling verified July 2026. Evernote is a cloud service and is not end-to-end encrypted, so the company can access your notes. Catchlight is pre-launch, its feature set is subject to change.
The honest bit. Is Evernote private?
Evernote encrypts your notes in transit and on its servers, and it lets you encrypt selected text inside a note. But the service holds the keys to the rest, so it can access your notes and can be compelled to. That’s the standard cloud arrangement, and for a lot of people it’s a fair trade for search, sync and sharing.
Catchlight takes the choice off the table. Your Takes are encrypted on your device with a 12-word Privacy Phrase only you hold. There’s no account, and no server of ours for anything to live on. It starts with the account, and we’ve written about why your notes shouldn’t need one.
Power versus calm. What are you actually buying?
Evernote’s strength is also its weight. Notebooks, stacks, web clipper, sharing, integrations. If you want a heavyweight cloud filing cabinet, it delivers. Catchlight is the opposite bet. One kind of thing, a Take, that’s a note, a task and a reminder at once, captured fast and shaped later. Less to manage, nothing to file, private by default.
Being fair. Where Evernote is the better choice.
If you rely on deep web clipping, heavy cross-platform sharing, or a decade of notebooks you don’t want to move, Evernote is built for that and Catchlight isn’t trying to be. If your notes are collaborative and low-stakes, its maturity is genuinely useful.
Where Catchlight is the better choice.
Catchlight is the better choice if you want private by architecture rather than by policy, no account, your own key, and a single place for notes, tasks and reminders that doesn’t ask you to file anything. If “who can read this” matters more to you than “how many notebooks can I have”, it’s the fairer trade.
Quick answers. Common questions.
Is Evernote end-to-end encrypted?
No. Evernote encrypts in transit and at rest but holds the keys, so it can access your notes. You can encrypt selected text within a note, but not the whole account. Catchlight encrypts everything on your device by default.
Do I need an account for Catchlight, like Evernote?
No. No account, no email, no sign-up. You get a 12-word Privacy Phrase on first launch, and that’s your key.
Can Catchlight replace Evernote?
For capture, tasks and reminders in one private place, yes. For heavyweight web clipping and team notebooks, Evernote is still the specialist.
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