Free · No account · No ads
Jotter
The notes app for iPhone and iPad that gets out of your way
Open it and start typing. There is no title to invent, no folder to choose and no save button: the first line names the note, and it is saved before you finish the sentence. Checklists, Apple Pencil handwriting, photos, scans and voice notes sit in the same note, and everything syncs through your own iCloud.
Free — no subscription, no ads, nothing locked. Built in Edmonton by The Big Head.
What it looks like
One list and one page, and on iPad the two side by side with your folders. Nothing here is a mockup — these are screenshots of the app.
Lists that tick
Type “[]” and a space at the start of a line and it becomes a checkbox. Tick it with a tap: it fills, the line strikes through, and it stays where you put it.
Handwriting
Write or draw with Apple Pencil on iPad, or your finger on iPhone, on blank, lined, grid or dotted paper. Your handwriting is read on the device, so it turns up in search.
Photos, scans and voice
Photos, scanned documents, voice notes and files sit in the note beside your words. The text in your pictures is searchable, and voice notes are transcribed on your device.
Search that forgives
A word or two, in any order, without minding capitals or accents. Jotter looks through titles, text, tags and the words inside your pictures, and shows you the sentence it found.
Your notes are not our data
Most notes apps keep your notes on their own servers, behind an account. Jotter has neither. There is nothing to sign up for, nothing to breach, and no terms that can change under your notes later.
- No Jotter account — you never create a login
- No Jotter server — notes sync only through your own iCloud
- Handwriting, photo text and voice notes are read on your device, never uploaded
- Every note exports as a Markdown file whenever you like
- No analytics SDK, no advertising identifiers, no third-party code at all
Built for the moment you think “I need to write this down”
Native Swift and SwiftUI throughout — not a web page in a wrapper. That is what makes the small things possible.
From anywhere, in a second
A New note widget on the Home Screen and Lock Screen, a Control Center button, Siri — “Jot down in Jotter” — and the Share button in any app, into a new note or one you already have.
Organise later, or never
Pin what matters. Write a #tag and it becomes a filter. Make a folder when a set of notes wants a name. Or don’t: everything is always in All Notes.
Forgiving
A deleted note waits in Recently Deleted for thirty days, with Undo right there as it goes. A note that holds something private can be locked behind Face ID.
Yours to keep
Export a note as a PDF or as text, or the whole library as Markdown files with the photos and recordings beside them — a format any app can open, now or in twenty years.
Questions
Do I need an account?
No. There is no Jotter account and no Jotter server. Your notes stay on your device and sync between your own iPhone and iPad through your personal iCloud.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Every feature is free, including the widgets, handwriting and iCloud sync. There is no subscription, no premium tier and no ads. The only purchase is an optional tip in Settings, and it unlocks nothing.
Does it work with Apple Pencil?
Yes. On iPad you can write or draw with Apple Pencil on a page that grows as you go, on blank, lined, grid or dotted paper. On iPhone you draw with your finger.
Can I get my notes out?
Yes, any time. Settings → Export all notes writes every note as a Markdown text file, with its photos and recordings beside it. A single note exports as a PDF or as text from its More menu.
Is my handwriting or my voice sent anywhere?
No. Handwriting and the text in your photos and scans are read on your device with Apple’s Vision framework, and voice notes are transcribed on your device with Apple’s Speech framework. If your iPhone cannot transcribe your language on the device, Jotter keeps the recording and skips the transcript rather than send it anywhere.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Everything lives on your device, so every feature works with no connection, and changes sync the next time you are online.
Is there an Android or web version?
No. Jotter is made for iPhone and iPad only, and needs iOS 18 or later. The things it leans on — widgets, Siri, the Share Sheet, Apple Pencil, on-device text recognition — are exactly what a cross-platform build cannot do well.
Jotter is coming to the App Store
Free, with no subscription, no ads and no account to create.
Coming soon
