Privacy

Last updated: 11 November 2026. BaldyNotes is run by Michael Cobley, High Wycombe, United Kingdom ("we").

The short version: your notes are locked (encrypted) on your own device before they go anywhere. We can't read them, and nor could anyone who broke into our servers. We don't show adverts, we don't track you, and we don't sell anything about you.

If you only use one device

Your notes, pictures and settings stay on that device. Nothing about them is sent to us. The app does check in with us a few times a day (see "A daily count" below).

If you turn on sync (or join a shared group)

To keep your devices the same, our sync service (run on Cloudflare) keeps:

Your notes, locked. Each group of notes is encrypted on your device before it's sent, under a scrambled name. Only your devices (and, for a shared group, the people in it) have the key.
An account number and your devices: a random account ID, a random ID for each linked device, the device's name (locked, so we can't read it), and when each device was last used.
Your username and password — but not in a form we can use. They never leave your device. Your device turns them into a scrambled number to find your account, a pass (we keep only a scrambled copy of it), and a key that unlocks your notes key. We can't see or reset your password.
Sizes and version numbers of your stored notes, so we can tell which device has the newest copy and how much space you use.
Pictures, only briefly. A new picture is passed, locked, from one of your devices to your others (or to the people in a shared group), and deleted from our service as soon as they've all collected it — or after 30 days at the most.
Shared groups and chat: who is in each shared group (account IDs), each member's display name and the chat messages — all locked with the group's own key, which we don't have. The last 1,000 messages of each group are kept.

Other things we receive

IP addresses, for up to a day, only to stop people guessing passwords or flooding the service. Cloudflare, who host the service, also handle connection data to run and protect it.
Calendars you show in the Planner, on the website only: browsers don't let a web page read your Google or Apple calendar directly, so our service fetches it and passes it straight to your device. Nothing from it is kept. (The Chrome extension reads it directly, without us.)
Spelling and grammar as you type, only if you turn it on: each paragraph you write is sent from your device straight to LanguageTool (languagetool.org), a proofreading service, to be checked — only paragraphs you've changed, after you stop typing for a moment. It doesn't go through us, and pictures are never sent. LanguageTool's own privacy policy says how it handles the text. With it off, the red underlines come from your browser and nothing is sent.
A daily count. The app checks in with our service a few times a day, to see whether there's an update. The first time each day, it also says where it's running (the Chrome or Edge extension, the website or the phone app) and whether sync is on. That's all: no ID, nothing about you or your notes. We add it to a running total ("312 people used BaldyNotes today"), so we can see how many people use it without knowing who. The Firefox extension doesn't send this.
Feedback you send from the app: your message, the app version and device type, and an email address if you choose to give one.
Problem reports from the service itself (which part failed, and the error) — never your notes. Kept 30 days.
Payments (BaldyNotes Plus): payments are handled by Paddle, who sell BaldyNotes Plus on our behalf as the "Merchant of Record". Paddle collects your name, email, payment and billing details under Paddle's privacy policy. We receive your email address and order details from Paddle so we can link your purchase to your account and help if you lose access. We never see your card details.

Things we never see

The AI helper: your device talks straight to Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT using your own key. Nothing goes through us.
Backups to Google Drive or OneDrive: they go straight from your device to your own account.
Reminders on your phone use your own ntfy topic, straight from your device.

Cookies and storage

The app keeps your notes and settings in your browser's own storage on your device. We use no advertising or tracking cookies.

Why we use this (UK GDPR)

To provide the service you asked for (contract), to keep it secure and working (our legitimate interests), and to deal with payments and records the law requires (legal obligation).

How long we keep it

Synced notes stay until you delete them or your account. If BaldyNotes Plus ends, your notes stay on your devices; the copy of your own notes on our service is kept for 90 days in case you renew, then deleted. (Groups you shared with other people stay for them, read-only.) Payment records are kept by Paddle and us as the law requires (usually 6 years).

Your choices and rights

Delete everything: ⚙ Settings → Sync → "Delete my sync account" removes your account, notes, devices and username from our service straight away. Your notes on your devices are kept.
You can ask us for a copy of what we hold, to correct it, or to delete it. Because almost everything is encrypted, most of it is only readable on your own devices — the app's Export gives you all of it in readable form.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk.

Children

BaldyNotes isn't aimed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly hold data about them.

Changes

If this changes in a way that matters, we'll say so in the app.

Questions: use ⚙ Settings → Send feedback in the app, or email info@baldynotes.com.