How to save notes online without an account (and never lose them)

You typed something important into an online notepad, closed the tab, and now you are wondering whether it is still there. It is a fair worry: "online notepad with save" can mean two very different things.

This guide explains the difference, how NoteDraft saves notes without an account, and the few habits that mean you never lose one.

Saved in your browser vs saved in the cloud

A cloud notepad is convenient because it follows you around. A browser-based notepad is simpler and more private because it does not. Neither is better in every way.

How NoteDraft saves your notes

There is no Save button to forget. About half a second after you stop typing, the note is saved to your browser's storage on that device. It survives closing the tab, closing the browser and restarting the computer, and after your first visit the notepad works offline.

Deleted notes are not gone straight away either. They move to the Trash at the bottom of the notes list for 30 days, and there is an Undo right after deleting. If you overwrite something by mistake, the ⋯ menu has Version history.

What can wipe browser storage

Because notes live in the browser, anything that clears the browser's data for the site clears them too:

• Clearing browsing data — especially "cookies and site data" or "clear everything".
• Private or incognito windows — storage is thrown away when the window closes. Do not keep notes in one.
• Automatic clean-up — some browsers remove stored data for sites you have not visited in a while, or when the device is short of space.
• A different browser or device — notes in Chrome are not visible in Firefox, or on your phone. They are not lost, just somewhere else.

Make a backup file

1. Back up everything Choose Back up all notes from the ⋯ menu, or Back up at the bottom of the notes list. You get one .json file containing every note and drawing.
2. Keep it somewhere else Move the file off the browser: your documents folder, a USB stick, or a cloud drive you already use.
3. Restore when you need to Choose Restore from backup in the ⋯ menu, or simply drop the file onto the page. Notes are added back and duplicates are skipped, so restoring twice does no harm.

For a single note, the Download button at the top saves it as Markdown, Plain Text, a Web Page or a PDF. A downloaded .txt or .md file can be dropped back onto the page to open it as a note.

Move notes to another device

To move everything, make a backup file, get it onto the other device and restore it there. To move one note, use Share: the link contains the note itself, and opening it on another device creates a new note there. Very long notes or large pictures may be too big for a link; the share dialog tells you. More in how to share notes online.

A simple routine so you never lose a note

• Back up all notes once a week, or after any session you would hate to redo.
• Keep the latest backup file outside the browser.
• Download anything truly important as its own file as well.
• Never write notes you want to keep in a private window.
• Before clearing browsing data, make a backup first.

When you really want a cloud notepad

If you need notes to appear on your phone and laptop automatically, or several people editing the same page, a browser-only notepad is the wrong tool. An account-based app that stores notes on its servers does that well, and the sign-up is worth it. If you mainly want to write quickly, privately and without an account, see how an online notepad with no sign-in works.