Paste vs PrivacyNotes

Paste is a private notepad and clipboard for syncing text, links, and code snippets across macOS, Linux, and Windows. Notes may be plain text, Markdown, or code, and users can pin frequently used items. It works offline and merges changes automatically after devices reconnect. The site says local search can find items in under 30 ms across 10,000 entries. Pairing uses a QR scan, short code, or recovery phrase, and each device receives a revocable signing key. Paste says it encrypts content on the device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before storage or syncing, deriving keys from the recovery phrase. Optional relays store encrypted blocks and can see network metadata, but cannot read note contents or keys. The encryption envelope, sync engine, relay client, and verifier are open source; Paste also includes a verifier and standalone CLI. Desktop versions run through the Pear runtime, which installers require. On Windows, the first launch fetches the app peer-to-peer and may take about one minute. iOS and Android are in development. Paste is free and requires no account; it does not provide anonymity or provable physical deletion of ciphertext retained on third-party disks.

PrivacyNotes is an end-to-end encrypted workspace for notes, tasks, files, a vault, journals, and bookmarks. It encrypts notes on the device before synchronization using XChaCha20-Poly1305, with keys derived from a 12-word BIP-39 phrase. Its local-first design supports reading, writing, and searching offline, then syncs changes when connectivity returns. The synchronized copy is stored in Zurich, Switzerland, as encrypted data rather than readable note text. Users can create a vault without email or sign in with Google, Apple, or GitHub; provider sign-in offers server-held or device-only key custody. Imports cover many note, journal, password, and bookmark services, along with Markdown files. PrivacyNotes has no AI features or background AI processing and does not train models on user content. Its web, desktop, and mobile apps and encryption code are published on GitHub under the AGPL. The Free plan costs nothing forever; Pro costs $48, paid once. Under self-custody, losing the phrase without a signed-in device means the company cannot recover notes.