An online notepad with no sign-in: how it works, and its limits

You want to write down a phone number, a shopping list or three bullet points from a call. The note app wants your email, a password and a tour of its features first. For a task that takes thirty seconds, that is absurd.

Why most note apps demand an account

Not out of malice — out of architecture. A traditional note app keeps your notes on its server so it can sync them between devices. The moment a note lives on someone else's machine, they need to know whose it is, which means an account.

The alternative: keep notes on your device

If a note never leaves your computer there is nothing to sign in to. Browsers can store data locally, so a notepad can run entirely on your machine while still being something you open in a tab.

That is how NoteDraft notes work. Open notedraft.com and type — the page is the notepad. Each note saves to your browser as you write and appears in a list you can search.

What you can do without signing up

• Write notes with headings, bold, links and pictures
• Make checklists — type [] and press Enter — and tick items off
• Search every note from the sidebar
• Share a note as a link that contains the note itself
• Download a note as Markdown, plain text or HTML, or print it to PDF
• Sketch or annotate an image when words are not enough

The honest trade-offs

Notes do not follow you between devices

Nothing syncs, because nothing is uploaded. Move a note with a share link, or download it.

Browser storage can be cleared

Clearing browsing data deletes your notes, and some browsers clear storage for sites you have not visited in a while. Download anything you would be upset to lose.

No real-time collaboration

Two people cannot type in the same note at once — that genuinely requires a server. If shared, synced notes are the point, a hosted app earns its sign-up.