Skip to content

Blog: five more Main Blogs (local first apps, encrypted apps, offline Android, no AI, privacy mistakes) #16

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
DevBehindYou merged 1 commit into from
Oct 9, 2026
Merged

Blog: five more Main Blogs (local first apps, encrypted apps, offline Android, no AI, privacy mistakes) #16

Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
1 commit
Select commit
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
81 changes: 81 additions & 0 deletions Atomic-Blog-Generation-Pipeline/visuals/posts/best_end_to_end_encrypted_notes_apps.py
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
"""Figures for S2: 5 Best End to End Encrypted Notes Apps in 2026."""
from atomic_viz import figure, banner, box, phone

APPS = ["Atomic Notes", "Notesnook", "Standard Notes", "Cryptee", "Joplin"]


def build():
out = {}

rows = "".join(f'<div style="display:grid;grid-template-columns:44px 1fr;gap:8px;padding:13px 0;border-top:1.5px solid #C6C6CB">'
f'<span style="font-family:Mono;font-weight:500;font-size:19px;color:#3A2FF0">{i + 1:02d}</span>'
f'<span style="font-family:Bebas;font-size:35px;line-height:1">{a}</span></div>' for i, a in enumerate(APPS))
art = box(740, 110, 400, 400, f'<div class="lbl" style="margin-bottom:8px">CHECKED OCTOBER 9, 2026</div>{rows}', cls="sigshadow", style="padding:18px 22px")
out["01-banner"] = banner("SECURITY · 2026", '5 BEST END TO END <span class="s">ENCRYPTED NOTES APPS</span>',
"Judged on one thing first: who holds the key.", art, title_size=88, text_width=640)

y, n, o = '<span class="yes">ON</span>', '<span class="no">NONE</span>', '<span class="part">OPTIONAL</span>'
data = [("ATOMIC NOTES", o, "AES-256-GCM", "Argon2id, 6 words", "Your phrase", n, "Source-available"),
("NOTESNOOK", y, "XChaCha20-Poly1305", "Argon2", "Recovery key", n, "GPL-3.0"),
("STANDARD NOTES", y, "XChaCha20-Poly1305", "Argon2id", "None", '<span class="yes">4 PUBLISHED</span>', "AGPL-3.0"),
("CRYPTEE", y, "AES-256", "Your encryption key", "None", n, "MIT (web client)"),
("JOPLIN", o, "AES-256-GCM", "PBKDF2", "None", n, "AGPL-3.0")]
trs = "".join(f"<tr><th style=\"font-size:26px\">{a}</th><td>{b}</td><td>{c}</td><td>{d}</td><td>{e}</td><td>{f}</td><td>{g}</td></tr>" for a, b, c, d, e, f, g in data)
body = (f'<table class="d" style="left:56px;top:190px;width:1088px"><thead><tr><th>APP</th><th>DEFAULT</th><th>CIPHER</th>'
f'<th>KEY FROM</th><th>RECOVERY</th><th>AUDITS</th><th>CODE</th></tr></thead><tbody>{trs}</tbody></table>')
out["02-comparison"] = figure("FIG 2 · AT A GLANCE", 'FIVE APPS, <span class="s">SIDE BY SIDE</span>', body,
"From each app's security documentation, checked October 9, 2026.", h=760)

# Five meanings of encrypted.
rungs = [("HTTPS ONLY", "Locked on the network", "The company, on arrival"),
("ENCRYPTED SERVER DISKS", "Locked on the company's drives", "The company, any time"),
("ENCRYPTED PHONE STORAGE", "Locked on your device", "The company, if it syncs plain text"),
("CLIENT-SIDE, COMPANY KEY", "Locked before upload", "The company, with its copy of the key"),
("END-TO-END", "Locked before upload, your key only", "Only your devices")]
body = ""
for i, (t, d, who) in enumerate(rungs):
top = 196 + (4 - i) * 104
w = 620 + i * 60
cls = "signal" if i == 4 else ("" if i == 3 else "surface flat")
body += box(56, top, w, 88, f'<div style="display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;height:100%">'
f'<div><div class="ttl" style="font-size:32px;margin-top:0">{t}</div><div class="txt" style="font-size:19px;margin-top:2px">{d}</div></div>'
f'<div style="text-align:right;max-width:300px"><div class="lbl" style="font-size:16px">WHO CAN READ</div>'
f'<div style="font-size:20px;margin-top:4px">{who}</div></div></div>', cls=cls, style="padding:10px 20px")
out["03-key-ladder"] = figure("FIG 1 · THE LADDER", 'FIVE THINGS <span class="s">"ENCRYPTED" CAN MEAN</span>', body,
"Only the top rung keeps the company out of your notes.", h=800)

# Recovery.
ok, part, lost = '<span class="yes">YES</span>', '<span class="part">PARTLY</span>', '<span class="no">LOST</span>'
data = [("ATOMIC NOTES", part, ok, lost, "Six-word phrase"),
("NOTESNOOK", ok, ok, lost, "Recovery key"),
("STANDARD NOTES", lost, ok, lost, "Password only"),
("CRYPTEE", lost, ok, lost, "Encryption key only"),
("JOPLIN", part, ok, lost, "Master password only")]
trs = "".join(f"<tr><th style=\"font-size:26px\">{a}</th><td>{b}</td><td>{c}</td><td>{d}</td><td>{e}</td></tr>" for a, b, c, d, e in data)
body = (f'<table class="d" style="left:56px;top:190px;width:1088px"><thead><tr><th>APP</th><th>FORGOT THE SECRET</th><th>LOST THE PHONE</th>'
f'<th>LOST BOTH</th><th>WHAT SAVES YOU</th></tr></thead><tbody>{trs}</tbody></table>')
out["04-recovery"] = figure("FIG 4 · RECOVERY", 'YOU LOST IT. <span class="s">NOW WHAT?</span>', body,
"Partly: a device that is already unlocked can still read or export your notes.", h=640)

# Metadata.
cols = [("EVERY APP HERE", ["Your account email", "When you sync", "How many items you store", "Rough size of each item"]),
("ATOMIC NOTES ALSO", ["Note type: text or checklist", "Pinned and deleted flags", "Created and updated times", "The Drive file ID"]),
("HIDDEN EVERYWHERE", ["Note titles", "Note text", "Checklist items", "Attachments, where supported"])]
body = ""
for i, (t, items) in enumerate(cols):
li = "".join(f'<div style="padding:10px 0;border-top:1.5px solid {"rgba(255,255,255,.35)" if i == 2 else "#C6C6CB"};font-size:22px">{x}</div>' for x in items)
body += box(56 + i * 370, 196, 340, 420, f'<div class="lbl">{"STILL VISIBLE" if i < 2 else "ENCRYPTED"}</div><div class="ttl" style="font-size:38px;margin-bottom:10px">{t}</div>{li}',
cls="signal" if i == 2 else "")
out["05-metadata"] = figure("FIG 5 · METADATA", 'CONTENT HIDDEN. <span class="s">PATTERN VISIBLE.</span>', body,
"Every sync service needs some metadata. The honest ones name it.", h=700)

body = phone(17, 64, 190, 260, crop=470, shadow="ink")
facts = [("THE KEY", "Six random words, 60 bits, shown once"), ("KEY DERIVATION", "Argon2id, 64 MiB, 3 passes, on the phone"),
("CIPHER", "AES-256-GCM for every note"), ("SERVER KEEPS", "A verifier, never the key"),
("DEFAULT", "Off. You switch the vault on"), ("HONEST LIMITS", "No independent audit yet")]
rws = "".join(f'<div style="display:grid;grid-template-columns:230px 1fr;gap:14px;padding:11px 0;border-top:1.5px solid #C6C6CB">'
f'<span class="lbl" style="font-size:18px">{a}</span><span style="font-size:22px">{b}</span></div>' for a, b in facts)
body += box(400, 190, 744, 500, f'<div class="ttl big" style="margin-top:0">ATOMIC NOTES VAULT</div><div style="margin-top:10px">{rws}</div>', cls="sigshadow")
out["06-atomic-notes-card"] = figure("FIG 3 · OUR PICK, DISCLOSED", 'HOW THE <span class="s">VAULT WORKS</span>', body,
"It's my app, so it goes first. The vault code is public in lib/security/.", h=760)
return out
84 changes: 84 additions & 0 deletions Atomic-Blog-Generation-Pipeline/visuals/posts/best_local_first_note_taking_apps.py
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
"""Figures for L2: 6 Best Local First Note Taking Apps in 2026."""
from atomic_viz import figure, banner, box, phone, arrow

APPS = ["Atomic Notes", "Obsidian", "Logseq", "SiYuan", "SilverBullet", "Trilium Notes"]


def build():
out = {}

rows = "".join(f'<div style="display:grid;grid-template-columns:44px 1fr;gap:8px;padding:11px 0;border-top:1.5px solid #C6C6CB">'
f'<span style="font-family:Mono;font-weight:500;font-size:19px;color:#3A2FF0">{i + 1:02d}</span>'
f'<span style="font-family:Bebas;font-size:33px;line-height:1">{a}</span></div>' for i, a in enumerate(APPS))
art = box(740, 100, 400, 440, f'<div class="lbl" style="margin-bottom:8px">CHECKED OCTOBER 9, 2026</div>{rows}', cls="sigshadow", style="padding:18px 22px")
out["01-banner"] = banner("LOCAL FIRST · 2026", '6 BEST LOCAL FIRST <span class="s">NOTE TAKING APPS</span>',
"Your device holds the real copy. The cloud is a helper you can switch off.", art, title_size=90, text_width=640)

y, n, p = '<span class="yes">YES</span>', '<span class="no">NO</span>', '<span class="part">OPTIONAL</span>'
data = [("ATOMIC NOTES", "Android phone", "JSON files in your Drive", "Your Google Drive", p, "Source-available"),
("OBSIDIAN", "Folder on device", "Markdown files", "Paid or any folder sync", "Obsidian Sync: yes", "Closed"),
("LOGSEQ", "Device", "Files (OG) or database", "Folder sync or own E2E", "Logseq sync: yes", "AGPL-3.0"),
("SIYUAN", "Local workspace", ".sy JSON documents", "Paid cloud, S3, WebDAV", y, "AGPL-3.0"),
("SILVERBULLET", "Folder you host", "Markdown files", "Server you run", n, "MIT"),
("TRILIUM NOTES", "Desktop database", "SQLite", "Server you run", "Per note", "AGPL-3.0")]
trs = "".join(f"<tr><th style=\"font-size:26px\">{a}</th><td>{b}</td><td>{c}</td><td>{d}</td><td>{e}</td><td>{f}</td></tr>" for a, b, c, d, e, f in data)
body = (f'<table class="d" style="left:56px;top:190px;width:1088px"><thead><tr><th>APP</th><th>PRIMARY COPY</th><th>FORMAT</th>'
f'<th>SYNC</th><th>ENCRYPTED SYNC</th><th>LICENSE</th></tr></thead><tbody>{trs}</tbody></table>')
out["02-comparison"] = figure("FIG 2 · AT A GLANCE", 'SIX APPS, <span class="s">SIDE BY SIDE</span>', body,
"Checked against each app's repository, docs, or changelog on October 9, 2026.", h=870)

# Which copy is the real one?
def side(x, label, title, top_t, top_d, top_cls, bot_t, bot_d, bot_cls, sig_top):
b = f'<div class="lbl" style="position:absolute;left:{x}px;top:186px">{label}</div>'
b += f'<div style="position:absolute;left:{x}px;top:214px;font-family:Bebas;font-size:44px;line-height:1">{title}</div>'
b += box(x, 288, 470, 150, f'<div class="lbl">{top_t}</div><div class="txt">{top_d}</div>', cls=top_cls)
b += box(x, 530, 470, 150, f'<div class="lbl">{bot_t}</div><div class="txt">{bot_d}</div>', cls=bot_cls)
return b
body = side(56, "CLOUD FIRST", "THE SERVER OWNS IT", "SERVER · THE REAL NOTE", "Every save goes here first. No server, no save.", "ink",
"YOUR PHONE · A CACHE", "Goes stale offline. New notes wait in a queue.", "surface flat", True)
body += side(674, "LOCAL FIRST", "YOUR DEVICE OWNS IT", "CLOUD · A COPY", "Moves notes between devices. You can turn it off.", "surface flat",
"YOUR PHONE · THE REAL NOTE", "Every save lands here first, with or without a network.", "signal", False)
lines = arrow(291, 446, 291, 522, color="ink") + arrow(909, 522, 909, 446, color="sig")
lines += '<line x1="600" y1="190" x2="600" y2="690" stroke="#C6C6CB" stroke-width="2" stroke-dasharray="8 8"/>'
out["03-primary-copy"] = figure("FIG 1 · THE ONE QUESTION", 'WHICH COPY IS <span class="s">THE REAL ONE?</span>', body,
"Arrows show which way a new note travels first.", lines=lines, h=760)

# Sync spectrum.
cols = [("NO SERVER TO MANAGE", "Storage you already have", ["ATOMIC NOTES", "OBSIDIAN"], "Your Google Drive, or Obsidian Sync and folder tools"),
("A SERVICE OR YOUR STORAGE", "Pick either", ["LOGSEQ", "SIYUAN"], "Their encrypted cloud, or your own folders, S3, or WebDAV"),
("A SERVER YOU RUN", "Full control, more work", ["SILVERBULLET", "TRILIUM NOTES"], "Docker or a small VPS at home or rented")]
body = '<div style="position:absolute;left:56px;right:56px;top:214px;height:14px;background:#EDEEE8;border:2px solid #15171B;border-radius:999px"></div>'
body += '<div style="position:absolute;left:58px;top:216px;width:360px;height:10px;background:#3A2FF0;border-radius:999px"></div>'
for i, (t, s, apps, d) in enumerate(cols):
x = 56 + i * 370
chips = "".join(f'<div class="chip{" on" if a == "ATOMIC NOTES" else ""}" style="margin:6px 8px 0 0">{a}</div>' for a in apps)
body += box(x, 262, 340, 380, f'<div class="lbl">{s}</div><div class="ttl" style="font-size:38px">{t}</div>'
f'<div style="margin-top:14px">{chips}</div><div class="txt muted" style="font-size:21px;margin-top:18px">{d}</div>',
cls="sigshadow" if i == 0 else "")
out["04-sync-spectrum"] = figure("FIG 5 · WHO RUNS SYNC", 'FROM STORAGE YOU OWN <span class="s">TO A SERVER YOU RUN</span>', body,
"Every app here also works with sync switched off.", h=720)

# Shutdown test.
y2, part = '<span class="yes">YES</span>', '<span class="part">EXPORT FIRST</span>'
data = [("ATOMIC NOTES", "Every note, on the phone", "JSON files in your Drive", y2, "<span class=\"part\">READ THE JSON</span>"),
("OBSIDIAN", "Markdown vault", "Your folder sync keeps going", y2, '<span class="yes">NOTHING TO DO</span>'),
("LOGSEQ", "Files or database graph", "Your folder sync keeps going", y2, "<span class=\"part\">DB GRAPHS: EXPORT</span>"),
("SIYUAN", ".sy JSON workspace", "Encrypted copy in your S3", y2, part),
("SILVERBULLET", "Markdown folder", "Your server keeps going", y2, '<span class="yes">NOTHING TO DO</span>'),
("TRILIUM NOTES", "SQLite database", "Your server keeps going", y2, part)]
trs = "".join(f"<tr><th style=\"font-size:26px\">{a}</th><td>{b}</td><td>{c}</td><td>{d}</td><td>{e}</td></tr>" for a, b, c, d, e in data)
body = (f'<table class="d" style="left:56px;top:190px;width:1088px"><thead><tr><th>APP</th><th>ON YOUR DEVICE</th><th>THE SYNC COPY</th>'
f'<th>KEEP WRITING?</th><th>TO MOVE APPS</th></tr></thead><tbody>{trs}</tbody></table>')
out["05-shutdown-test"] = figure("FIG 4 · THE SHUTDOWN TEST", 'THE COMPANY IS GONE. <span class="s">WHAT IS LEFT?</span>', body,
"From each app's docs. Official cloud services stop. Anything you host or own stays.", h=790)

body = phone(3, 64, 190, 260, crop=470, shadow="ink")
facts = [("PRIMARY COPY", "Your phone. Saved as you type, no network needed"), ("SYNC", "Optional, to a folder in your own Google Drive"),
("SERVER", "Metadata only, never note titles or text"), ("CONFLICTS", "Kept as a separate conflict copy"),
("NO", "Ads, trackers, or AI"), ("HONEST LIMITS", "Android only. Google sign-in. No export button yet")]
rws = "".join(f'<div style="display:grid;grid-template-columns:230px 1fr;gap:14px;padding:11px 0;border-top:1.5px solid #C6C6CB">'
f'<span class="lbl" style="font-size:18px">{a}</span><span style="font-size:22px">{b}</span></div>' for a, b in facts)
body += box(400, 190, 744, 500, f'<div class="ttl big" style="margin-top:0">ATOMIC NOTES</div><div style="margin-top:10px">{rws}</div>', cls="sigshadow")
out["06-atomic-notes-card"] = figure("FIG 3 · OUR PICK, DISCLOSED", 'WHY ATOMIC NOTES <span class="s">IS FIRST</span>', body,
"It's my app, so it goes first. Every fact on this card is checkable in its public code.", h=760)
return out
Loading