Catchlight vs Google Keep.
Google Keep is free because you and your notes are part of Google’s data business, with a Google account and no end-to-end encryption. Catchlight is paid for by the people who use it, not by ads, and encrypts everything on your device.
Google Keep is free, fast and simple, and if you live in Google’s world it’s right there. The catch is the one behind every free Google product. This is the honest look at what “free” is actually costing you here.
At a glance. The short version.
| Catchlight | Google Keep | |
|---|---|---|
| Account needed | None. Ever. | Google account required |
| End-to-end encrypted | Yes, on device, always | No, Google can access your notes |
| Where data lives | Your device, optional folder you own | Google’s cloud servers |
| Business model | A flat fee from the people who use it | Free, inside the data economy |
| Notes, tasks & reminders | One unified Take | Notes, lists and reminders |
| Price | One flat ~£14.99/yr | Free |
| Verify the privacy | Read the source on GitHub | Trust the policy |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 18+), more planned | Cross-platform |
Google Keep handling verified July 2026. Keep is not end-to-end encrypted and sits within a Google account. Catchlight is pre-launch, its feature set is subject to change.
The honest bit. Is Google Keep private?
Keep isn’t end-to-end encrypted, and it lives inside a Google account, so Google can access your notes. That’s the same arrangement as Google’s other free products, where the price you don’t pay in cash is paid another way. If you’re already comfortable keeping your life in Google, Keep is a natural, tidy little tool.
Catchlight is the deliberate opposite. Encrypted on your device with a key only you hold, no account, no tracking, funded only by the people who use it, so you’re never the thing being sold.
Free has a bill too. What you’re really trading.
The strongest argument for Keep is that it costs nothing. But if you’re switching to it for privacy, you’d be moving your notes into one of the biggest data businesses on earth. Free notes apps have to be paid for somehow, and when the bill isn’t money, it tends to be you. The account is the product, and it’s why your notes shouldn’t need one.
Being fair. Where Google Keep is the better choice.
If your notes are low-stakes, you’re deep in the Google ecosystem, and free plus simple is exactly what you want, Keep is a perfectly good answer and switching would be a faff for little gain.
Where Catchlight is the better choice.
Catchlight is the better choice the moment your notes become something you’d rather no company indexed. No account, encrypted on your device, notes, tasks and reminders in one place, and a business model that doesn’t rely on reading you.
Quick answers. Common questions.
Is Google Keep end-to-end encrypted?
No. Keep sits inside your Google account and Google can access your notes. Catchlight encrypts every Take on your device with a key only you hold.
Do I need an account for Catchlight, like a Google account?
No. No account, no email, no sign-up. A 12-word Privacy Phrase on first launch is your key.
Is a paid notes app really more private than a free one?
Often, yes. A flat fee from users means the app doesn’t need to make money from your data. Free usually means the data is the business.
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