Private beta · winter 2026
Notes that stay out of the way.
Driftpad is a small notebook for your phone. Plain text, offline first, no folders to maintain and no account to create. Open it, write, close it.
No tracking, no mailing list. Replies come from a real inbox.
Today
Balcony, spring list
Two long planters, thyme and mint. Ask the neighbour where the railing brackets came from.
Grocery run
Rye flour · olives · the good coffee · batteries (AA)
Yesterday
Reading list — autumn
Three left over from last year. Start with the short one.
Three ideas, and nothing else
Most note apps keep growing until they need a tutorial. Driftpad is deliberately finished.
Plain text, always
Everything is Markdown on disk. Export the whole notebook as a folder of .md files whenever you like — nothing is locked in.
Offline first
The app works with the radio off. Sync is optional, end-to-end encrypted, and can point at storage you already own.
Search, not folders
No trees, no tag hygiene. One list, one search field, and a pin for the two or three notes you actually live in.
Questions we keep getting
If yours is not here, write to us — the address at the bottom is read by a person.
When can I actually use it?
The private beta opens this winter, on iOS first and Android a few weeks later. Invites go out in small batches so we can keep up with the replies.
Where are my notes stored?
On your device, as ordinary Markdown files. If you turn sync on, notes are encrypted before they leave the phone and the key never does. You can also skip our sync entirely and keep the folder wherever you like.
Will it be free?
The app is free and stays free. Sync across devices will be a small yearly subscription — that is the whole business model. No ads, no analytics, nothing sold on.
Is there a desktop or web version?
Not yet. Because notes are plain files, any desktop editor already works against a synced folder. A proper desktop app comes some time after the mobile launch.