Switch over to a proper password manager instead, like Dashlane, 1Password, or LastPass, which prioritize encrypting sensitive data by default. This zero-tolerance approach will help safeguard your information.Īnd, if you are using a note-taking app to store username and passwords, please stop ?. Answer Optionsġ) Be wary of storing sensitive information in unencrypted notes. Most people (58.2% ☓.1) were not aware that many notes apps don’t encrypt notes by default ?. Hackers could even see the content of your notes by spying on your network, if the note-taking app has a sync function with no encryption. This means that apps that don't encrypt your notes by default leave them vulnerable to hacking by people who can access your device or the login credentials for your note-taking app. That’s alarming given that many note-taking apps aren’t encrypted by default! Encryption is a process that scrambles text data, rendering it unreadable by anyone who doesn’t have the key (usually a password or passphrase). Our survey of 1,029 American adults found almost half (45.3% ☓.1) have saved one or more of the following in a note-taking app: usernames, passwords, social security number, credit card information, and security or PIN codes. People frequently use them for quick to-do and grocery shopping lists, but they’re also often used to store more private information. Note-taking apps have become a welcome replacement for post-it notes. This series highlights some of the lesser-known though commonly encountered privacy risks, and explains what you can do to protect yourself.įirst up: Saving private information to an unencrypted note-taking app. People are doing more than ever to protect their privacy, but not every privacy risk is explained in the news. This is the first in a series of posts about common but largely unknown privacy risks. The Hidden Privacy Risk in Note-Taking Apps Filed under Privacy Research on