How to get the benefit from Private Message?
Private Notes is a new, free and secure note-taking app which promises to make it easy for you to “build a private place where your most sensitive thoughts are safe” – but how does it work?
If you’re looking for something simple, then Private Notes might be the perfect solution. It can be used on any device – from your phone or tablet, to your laptop or desktop computer – and allows you to create multiple encrypted folders containing all of your notes. There are no accounts to worry about either, so you don’t need to worry about sharing your data with anyone else. The private message is the key way of securing what you are talking about or messaging to others. It can help you to keep things in control and better manners. There is no requirement of visiting or connecting with any people for anything. Choose these options, have safety in the messages, and talk freely without stressing.
But if you want more than just a simple note-taker, then there are plenty of other apps worth considering. Here are some of our favorites…
- Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft is well known for its productivity software, such as Office and Windows, but there are several other applications that they offer as part of their suite. One of these is OneNote, which has been around for years. For a long time it was only available as part of the Office suite, but now the app is completely standalone.
OneNote offers an impressive array of features, including support for drawing, audio recording and video recording. You can also use the app to take handwritten notes, create checklists, edit existing documents and much more. But what makes OneNote particularly interesting is its ability to sync across devices, so you can access all of your notes wherever you are.
- Evernote
Evernote is one of the most popular note-taking apps in the world, thanks to its combination of simplicity and power. The app has grown over the years, and it now boasts over 50 million users in 120 countries. If you’ve never used Evernote before, it’s definitely worth giving it a try.
The basic version of the app costs $5 per month, while Evernote Premium will set you back $7.50 a month. Both plans allow you to upload files and photos directly into your notebook, as well as share notebooks with others via email. The Premium package also includes premium versions of Evernote’s various other tools, such as Clipper, which helps you manage tasks automatically.
- TiddlyWiki
TiddlyWiki is another powerful note-taking application, designed specifically for non-technical people. This means that it’s very easy to get started using the app without needing to know anything about computers. In fact, TiddlyWiki is actually based on an old program called WikiWikiWeb, which was originally developed by Larry Wall (the creator of Perl).
This means that the app is extremely lightweight, making it ideal for both mobile devices and desktops. You can even install the app on your Raspberry Pi, which makes it great for creating personal projects.
There are two different editions of the app available: Basic and Pro. The Premium edition includes additional features, such as support for images and PDFs, as well as offline viewing. You’ll find out exactly what each edition offers when you download the app.
- Moleskine
Moleskine is the most famous brand of stationary in the world, and the company has been producing paper notebooks since 1892. Each notebook comes with a unique signature seal, allowing the company to guarantee the authenticity of every single piece of stock.
These days, however, the company produces notebooks under many different names, including Rives BFK and Rhodia. But the original Moleskine name remains the best known, and you’ll still find them at high street bookshops everywhere.
And despite being so well known, Moleskines are surprisingly affordable. A standard notebook is currently selling online for less than £10.00, making them some of the cheapest notebooks in the world.
- Plain text documents
Although we’re not going to recommend Google Docs here, they do have a feature that could prove useful for privacy. For example, it’s possible to encrypt your document so that nobody except you can read it. This isn’t quite as good as having a separate folder, but it’s certainly better than nothing.
- Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk is the ultimate time management tool, and it’s probably the best alternative to Google Calendar. Although not everything works perfectly, the interface is incredibly intuitive and the app is very easy to use.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that it’s a perfect replacement for Google Calendar: it lacks advanced scheduling tools, and there’s no way to link meetings to specific calendar events. However, the main benefit of Remember the Milk is that it syncs across all platforms, including Android, iOS and web browsers.
- Penzu
Penzu is a relatively new service, but it looks like it’s already growing rapidly. The site is currently running on a limited number of servers, and the developers are always working hard to improve the platform.
In essence, Penzu is a social network for journaling. You can create a profile, add friends, post status updates, upload photos, send messages, etc. And when you log in, the site acts as a virtual lockbox: everything that you post is completely invisible to everybody else.
You can use Penzu on your own website, or you can use their API to integrate the service into your own project. Either way, it’s pretty cool.
- TextExpander
TextExpander is a terrific way to save time and effort whenever you write emails or texts. All you need to do is type a few keystrokes, and your message will appear almost instantly. Of course, it’s not suitable for everything. But if you regularly find yourself writing the same phrase or sentence repeatedly, then TextExpander is definitely worth trying out.
- Dropbox Paper
Dropbox paper is an excellent way to keep track of ideas, to-dos and projects. When you first sign up, you’ll receive 10GB of space from Dropbox to store your files. After that, you can choose whether you want to pay for extra storage capacity, or if you want to rely on the cloud storage provided by Dropbox itself.
The advantage of using Dropbox Paper is that you can easily access your files on any computer, smartphone or tablet. They’ll automatically sync between devices too, so you won’t need to manually copy files between machines. To view your files, simply head to Dropbox.com, click on the folder icon, and select ‘Open file in Paper.’
- Simplenote
Simplenote is one of those apps that you may have heard of, but never actually tried. As I mentioned earlier, it’s an open source alternative to Evernote, and it’s arguably more powerful.
For example, it supports Markdown formatting, and you can easily import data from other sources, including Twitter, Facebook and Google Reader. Plus, you can export data from Simplenote to Evernote, if you ever decide to move away from the app.
- Notability
Notability is a fantastic new note-taking app, especially for artists. It’s available for Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android, and it can be used as a stand-alone app, or integrated with your existing workflow.
All of your notes are stored inside a single database, meaning that you can search through them all from one screen. You can also annotate pictures and videos, and you can even embed links straight from the app.
- Plaintext
Plaintext is a little bit different from the rest of the apps on this list. Instead of storing your notes as files, it stores them as plain text. So instead of creating multiple folders, you can simply create a new note by typing a command.
Because your notes can contain any kind of data, you can use Plaintext to create a journal, diary or diary. Or perhaps you’d prefer to focus on your creative output, and use the app to record ideas and brainstorming sessions.
- WriteRoom
WriteRoom is another excellent choice for taking notes. It’s available as both a desktop app and a browser extension, and it has some really nice features.
For example, you can create lists, organize them into categories, and mark them as important or unimportant. You can also highlight specific words, phrases and sentences, and add comments on the fly.
- KeepNote
KeepNote is a very simple note-taking app, but it’s also one of the oldest. Like other apps on this list, it’s available as a desktop app, a webapp and an Android app.
It offers a variety of templates that you can customize, but it doesn’t come with any built-in themes, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get exactly the look you want. However, the core functionality of the app is rock solid: it lets you create unlimited notes, and it offers a number of nice extras.
Pocket is a fantastic way to save articles and websites that you want to revisit later. And because it’s so easy to use, it’s perfect for taking regular notes throughout the day.
When you visit a page, you can quickly add it to your Pocket account, and it will show up within the next 24 hours. You can also subscribe to individual sites, so you won’t miss any new content.
- Zoho Notebook
Zoho Notebook is a free service that you can use to create and maintain private files. It’s essentially a digital lockbox, and it works alongside other services such as Google Drive and Dropbox.
As soon as you create a new item, it becomes visible to other users in the system. So you should think carefully before adding sensitive information to