Dash LogoDash Notes
Private notes for Mac and iPhone

Your notes are none of our business.

An encrypted notes app that keeps everything on your device. No account, no cloud unless you ask for it, and a Mac app you buy once.

100+ downloads · Open source (MIT) · Works offline
Dash Notes
AES-256-GCM encryptionWorks offlineNo accountOpen source

Everything you want from a notes app. Nothing that needs a server.

A real block editor with links, folders and tags, plus the things only a private app can offer.

Lock a note in one click.

Each locked note is encrypted with AES-256-GCM and a key derived from its password. Open it with Touch ID on Mac, Face ID on iPhone. Or lock the whole app and let it lock itself when you walk away.

Lock “Interview notes, 4 Sep”Encrypted on this device
Allow Touch IDLock note

Four themes, or match your Mac.

Light, Dark, Night, Terminal. Follows the system setting if you like.

Appearance
Light
Dark
Night
Terminal
Match macOS appearance

Type [[ to link notes.

Wiki-style links with autocomplete, plus folders and tags.

Follow up on the
Planning minutes, March
Planning appeal, draft letter
Plans for the summer

Notes that delete themselves.

Set a timer from one hour to thirty days. When it runs out, the note is gone for good.

Door code for the studio0:10
Deletes automatically when the timer reaches zero.

A second password for bad days.

A duress password opens decoy notes. Your real notes stay encrypted on disk.

Real password•••••••••
Duress password
Opens “Grocery lists” and 4 harmless notes

Sync, if you want it. Encrypted before it leaves.

Turn on Dash Sync and your Mac, iPhone and iPad stay in step. Notes are encrypted on the device with a vault key the server never has. This is what our relay sees:

$4.99 / month · $47.99 / year · 7-day trial · optional
RELAY · vault 3f9a · 09:41:00
e00000000000 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 000909e00000 000080000000 000000000000 000000000000
No titles. No tags. No text. Just ciphertext and a timestamp.

AI that stays on your Mac.

Summarize, rewrite and ask questions with Ollama or LM Studio. Nothing leaves the machine.

Summarize this note
ollama · llama3 · localhost

Touch ID on Mac and Face ID on iPhone unlock the app or any locked note; a password is always the fallback.

How Dash compares

The honest version. Notion and Obsidian are excellent at things Dash does not try to do.

FeatureDashNotionEvernoteObsidian
Works fully offline
No account required
Zero tracking
AES-256 note encryption
No subscription required
End-to-end encrypted sync
Biometric lock
Self-destructing notes
Duress password
Wiki-style [[links]]
Local AI (on-device)
Open source
Security you can read

The details are the promise.

Every claim on this page is checkable in the source. We would rather show the algorithm than say “military-grade”.

Read the source on GitHub
Note encryption
AES-256-GCM
Key derivation
PBKDF2-SHA256 · 600,000 rounds
Unlock
Touch ID · Face ID · password
Under coercion
Duress password → decoy
Sync (optional)
End-to-end · relay holds ciphertext
Source
MIT · github.com/Efesop

One purchase. Two platforms. Sync only if you want it.

You never need a subscription to take notes.

Get Dashthe same app, on both platforms
Mac
$14.99once

Lifetime access • No subscription required

Full access to Dash for Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel)
Local-first — your notes stay on your device
Free updates and new features
Optional cross-device sync available separately
Secure checkout
SSL encrypted
iPhone
Freeon the App Store

No purchase, no trial, no account

Same encryption, Face IDWorks fully offlineNo account to makeFree on the web too
Download
OptionalAdd Dash Sync

Keeps Mac, iPhone, iPad and web in step, encrypted on your device first. Dash works completely without it — notes, encryption and everything else.

$4.99 / mo
or $47.99 / year · 7-day trial
Start free trial
Secure checkoutSSL encryptedAlready purchased? Recover your download

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about Dash

Your notes. Your device. Nobody else's server.

$14.99 once on Mac. Free on iPhone.