New to Evernote, uneasy about privacy

[KS555 0]

Just started Evernote last night and it seems like a right useful program.   However, the privacy thing makes me really uneasy.

 

So, from what I understand at this point, you can use a local notebook, but anything web-clipped will be backed up on their servers briefly, correct?

But my local notebook won't be?  

If you send a local note (say something out of a Word file) into Evernote, then move it to a local notebook, does it get backed up?

Maybe I could save the Safari page as a web archive or PDF, then send it into Evennote? Would that work?

I loved the feature where you could clip only a part of text on a web page to a note, that was great.

 

Can we just turn the cloud thing off entirely?   i"m not accessing it on another device.   If I tell it  not to connect with Evenote say, via LIttle Snitch, can I then prevent my stuff from being backed up on a server?

 

I have no problem with some items (like my garden design) being uploaded on the server.  But credit card statements? Journal notes?  Project notes and revisions?

 

So I just want to know what I would be giving up in terms of privacy for the convenience of using Evernote. 

 

Today the assumption is that if you have nothing to hide, you don't need privacy.   Sorry, but I'm old school.   There was a time when privacy was assumed, before everyone decided that posting every drunken frat picture on Facebook was a good idea.    

It doesn't matter if your Evernote files are supposed to be protected. I don't want anything of mine on the 'cloud' that doesn't have to be.

 

That said, it appears to be a great program to get organized.  Can I be assured that it can be used in a way that is purely local?  If not, can someone suggest a comparable, alternative program that is? 

 

Thank you

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Local notebooks are designed so that they do not sync, and for that reason, I have long recommended them as the most secure way to use Evernote.

http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=425

However, sometimes things don't go according to plan. You should be aware of this.

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/38259-local-notebook-uploaded-and-synced/

There are, indeed, many ways to encrypt before data goes into the cloud. In addition to converting to PDF and encrypting each file, there is also Saferoom.

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/81336-saferoom-zero-knowledge-encryption-for-evernote-and-more/

As detailed on my website, there are also other options for syncing securely with other devices and even clipping web items, though none quite as effortless as Evernote.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

hi. evernote is a cloud service, and i assume anything i put unencrypted into the cloud will be compromised at some point, if it hasn't been already. i take security pretty seriously, because i am responsible for properly handling data that isn't mine to share.

http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=1605

there are other apps out there, of course. google around or see my site for some. as for evernote, local notebooks are the most secure, but they have been mistakenly uploaded in the past (windows), and a web clipping (in your example) will have to go through evernote servers before it goes into your account, so i wouldn't assume going local is 100% secure. nevertheless, it is probably more secure than most of its competitors.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

@KS555:

 

If you just use Local Notebooks then nothing is uploaded to the Evernote Cloud.

 

You have two options with web clipping:

1. Take advantage of the cool Web Clipper features, and then move the Note to your Local Notebook
2. Select/copy the web page, and use the EN global shortcut to paste into a new Note, which you can assign to your Local Notebook.

Also, with respect to privacy/security, you could encrypt PDFs before you attach to a EN Note.  This should make them safe in the EN Cloud.

 

Most of what I put into Evernote is not sensitive info, so I have no problem using Notebooks sync'd to the EN Cloud.

I find having this info available on my other devices (other Macs, iPhone, iPad) to be very useful.

[GeorgiaLynne 1]

I am new to Evernote and when I created my Notebooks, I went with the default to allow synchronization. I realize now, that I would prefer to use local notebooks. Is there a way to change the setting of a notebook from

synchronized to local?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I am new to Evernote and when I created my Notebooks, I went with the default to allow synchronization. I realize now, that I would prefer to use local notebooks. Is there a way to change the setting of a notebook from

synchronized to local?

Hi. No. But, you can create a local notebook and move the notes into it.

[GeorgiaLynne 1]

Thank YOU!! I just tried creating new notebooks and moving the notes into them and it worked perfectly!

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Thank YOU!! I just tried creating new notebooks and moving the notes into them and it worked perfectly!

Glad I could help!