Comparison

Annota Notes vs Keepout

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Annota Notes

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Annota — Private, Local-First Note Taking Annota is a fast, offline-first note-taking app designed for privacy, speed, and absolute data control. Your notes stay securely on your device by default, with optional end-to-end encrypted cloud sync when you need it. Key Features • Local-First by Design Your notes are stored locally on your device, allowing instant access anytime — even entirely offline. • End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Your data is completely encrypted using SQLCipher/AES-256 before it ever leaves your device. Only you hold the key. • Optional Cross-Platform Cloud Sync Sync seamlessly between your mobile devices and your desktop companion app while maintaining total mathematical privacy. • Smart AI Features (Optional) Accelerate your workflow with optional, on-demand AI utilities for note summarizing and structuring, entirely controlled by your explicit consent. • Fast & Minimal Layout A clean interface focused entirely on execution performance — no clutter, no tracking, and no corporate background data harvesting. • Full Markdown Support & Clean Export Write efficiently with rich Markdown and easily export your data whenever you need it. Who is it for? Students, developers, and privacy-conscious users who want an uncompromising, elite text utility that prioritizes data ownership. Legal & Privacy Information: • Privacy Policy: [Insert Your Website Privacy Link] • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Keepout

Features
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Keepout is a private notes app for iPhone and iPad. Your writing stays on your device, encrypted at rest, with local tools for connecting and understanding ideas. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • AES-256-GCM encryption protects every note at rest. • Your vault key stays in this device's non-synchronizing Keychain. • Opaque filenames keep note titles and links out of the file system. • There is no account, cloud sync, analytics, remote prompt processing, or plaintext search index. CONNECTED KNOWLEDGE • Link notes with familiar double-bracket wiki links. • Follow backlinks and suggested related notes. • Explore an interactive knowledge graph built with Apple's local sentence embeddings. • Search decrypted notes in memory while the vault is unlocked. LOCAL AI • Ask questions, summarize a note, and suggest connections without sending note text to a server. • Use Apple Foundation Models on supported devices. • Choose the optional MLX engine for local inference. Its compact model downloads once on first use; inference then stays on your device. FOCUSED WRITING • Open the transient action bar from the toolbar or with Command-K on a hardware keyboard. • Type / in the editor for headings, lists, tasks, quotes, code blocks, dividers, and links. • Switch to a centered typewriter view that hides the side columns and softly fades the page edges. • Navigate with touch or hardware-keyboard shortcuts on iPad. • Markdown syntax and link destinations stay visually quiet until the caret enters them. Keepout stores each encrypted note in a .md file so your vault remains a collection of Markdown documents without exposing their contents at rest.

Screenshots

Annota Notes4 screens
Keepout3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Annota Notes at 4 against Keepout's 2. Annota Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Annota Notes versus Keepout: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnnota NotesKeepout
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLiran SosnaAlex Richard Fiore

In-app purchases

None

Annota Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Keepout

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Annota Notes free?
Annota Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Keepout free?
Keepout is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Annota Notes or Keepout have ads?
Neither Annota Notes nor Keepout shows ads.

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