Mitja Rutnik / Android Authority
I generally rely on cloud services, but I’m increasingly uncomfortable with the fact that most of my data is online and possibly available for others to see. This includes my financials, photos, notes, tasks, and a lot more.
With that in mind, I started researching offline-first apps. Apps that store all the data on my device, making sure I’m the only one who has access to them. Sure, this has its own set of problems. I can’t access my data from multiple devices, and if my phone goes bust, everything is gone.
Regardless, I started downloading and testing out several offline-first apps and want to highlight the five most interesting ones from various categories.
Would you consider switching to offline-first apps for privacy reasons? 18 votes Yes 83 % No 11 % I already have 6 %
Obsidian
Nathan Drescher / Android Authority
I’m a Notion user, but since the app is cloud-based by default, I wanted to find an alternative. Obsidian looks to be the best one, as its offline approach means my data is safe and secure. There’s sync available too for those who need it, but it’s part of a subscription plan.
The switch from Notion to Obsidian isn’t all that complicated. I was able to export all my data from Notion and import it into Obsidian, so I had access to all of it from the get-go. Some of the formatting doesn’t transfer over completely due to the differences between the two apps, but it’s 90% there.
Everything I can do in Notion, I can do in Obsidian. This means creating content for my job, taking meeting notes, keeping track of my diet and fitness plan, and much more. So I’m not actually losing anything by switching, but I am gaining more privacy.
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