Software Alternatives & Startups

PrivacyNotes VS RCDevs

Compare PrivacyNotes VS RCDevs and see what are their differences

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PrivacyNotes logo PrivacyNotes

Zero-knowledge encrypted notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords in one app. Your keys never leave your device. One-time price, no subscription. Hosted in Switzerland.
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RCDevs logo RCDevs

RCDEVS Docs
  • PrivacyNotes Journal
    Journal //
    2026-06-25
  • PrivacyNotes Settings
    Settings //
    2026-06-25
  • PrivacyNotes Website
    Website //
    2026-06-25

PrivacyNotes is a zero-knowledge encrypted workspace that brings your notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords into one app, so you stop juggling four separate subscriptions.

Everything is encrypted on your device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it ever syncs. Your keys are derived from a recovery phrase that never touches our servers, so we cannot read your content, your filenames, or anything else. This is real zero-knowledge, not a marketing label.

Five pillars, one encrypted app:

  • Notes - a live markdown editor with note-to-note links, tags, and fast full-text search
  • Tasks - native checklists and task management next to your notes
  • Journals - daily entries with built-in mood, sleep, and medication tracking
  • Files - an encrypted vault for images, audio, and attachments
  • Vault - lock sensitive notes and logins behind a PIN or biometrics

Built for privacy, not surveillance:

  • No ads, no trackers, no analytics, ever
  • Sign in anonymously with a recovery phrase or with Google. No email or personal details required.
  • Open core: the encryption layer and database schema are published for independent review
  • Burn notes: self-destructing shares the server cannot read

Pricing that respects you:

  • Free covers every pillar with two-device sync and offline use
  • Pro is a one-time free, not a subscription, adding unlimited devices, note history, and more storage
  • Optional storage add-ons when you need them

Works on web, macOS, and soon iOS, Android, Windows and Linux with a responsive mobile layout. Import from Apple Notes, Standard Notes, Google Keep, Obsidian, and markdown in a few clicks.

  • RCDevs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-25

PrivacyNotes

$ Details
freemium $48 / One-off (Early adopter price)
Platforms
MacOS Web Firefox Google Chrome Edge Safari
Release Date
2026 June
Startup details
Country
Switzerland
Employees
1 - 9

RCDevs

Website
rcdevs.com
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

PrivacyNotes features and specs

  • Privacy-focused
    PrivacyNotes is designed with privacy as a core principle, aiming to keep your notes secure and away from third-party access, which appeals to users concerned about data confidentiality.
  • Encryption
    The service typically emphasizes encryption to protect note content, meaning your data is scrambled and less vulnerable to unauthorized reading if intercepted or stored.
  • Ephemeral notes
    Many privacy note services offer self-destructing or temporary notes that automatically delete after being read or after a set time, reducing the digital footprint left behind.
  • Simple and lightweight
    Such tools often provide a clean, minimal interface focused on quick note creation and sharing without unnecessary features, making it easy to use.
  • No account required
    Privacy-oriented note apps frequently allow you to create and share notes without registration, lowering the barrier to entry and reducing personal data collection.

RCDevs features and specs

  • Comprehensive Multi-Factor Authentication
    RCDevs offers a robust multi-factor authentication (MFA) suite through WebADM and OpenOTP, supporting a wide range of authentication methods including OTP tokens, FIDO2, push notifications, SMS, voice, and more, giving organizations flexibility in securing access.
  • On-Premises Deployment Option
    Unlike many competing MFA solutions that are cloud-only, RCDevs provides full on-premises deployment capabilities, which is critical for organizations with strict data sovereignty, compliance, or privacy requirements that prevent them from using cloud-hosted services.
  • Extensive Integration and Protocol Support
    RCDevs supports a broad set of standard protocols including RADIUS, SAML, OpenID Connect, LDAP, and REST APIs, making it relatively straightforward to integrate with VPNs, web applications, Windows logon, Linux PAM, and enterprise systems.
  • Unified Identity and Access Management Platform
    The WebADM platform provides a centralized management console that combines MFA, PKI certificate management, single sign-on (SSO), and access policies in one platform, reducing the need for multiple disparate tools for identity management.
  • Free Tier Available
    RCDevs offers a freeware license for up to 40 users, allowing small organizations or teams to use core features without cost, and enabling larger organizations to evaluate the product thoroughly before committing to a purchase.

Possible disadvantages of RCDevs

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The documentation, while extensive, can be complex and overwhelming. Setting up and configuring WebADM, OpenOTP, and associated components requires significant technical expertise in LDAP, networking, and security protocols, making initial deployment challenging for less experienced administrators.
  • Documentation Organization and Clarity
    Although RCDevs provides a large volume of documentation, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate, with information spread across multiple pages and guides. Some topics lack clear step-by-step instructions or up-to-date examples, making troubleshooting more difficult.
  • Complex Architecture and Setup
    The platform involves multiple interconnected components (WebADM, OpenOTP, LDAP server, various connectors and plugins), which adds architectural complexity. Deploying, maintaining, and upgrading all these components in a production environment can be resource-intensive.
  • Limited Community and Ecosystem
    Compared to larger competitors like Duo, Okta, or Microsoft Entra, RCDevs has a smaller user community. This means fewer third-party tutorials, community forums, and shared troubleshooting resources are available when encountering issues.
  • User Interface Feels Dated
    The administrative web interface and some end-user facing components can feel visually outdated compared to more modern competitors. While functional, the UI/UX does not always meet the expectations of users accustomed to sleek, modern SaaS-based identity management tools.

Analysis of PrivacyNotes

Overall verdict

  • I don't have verified, specific information about PrivacyNotes (privacynotes.app) to make a reliable assessment of its quality, security practices, or features. I cannot confirm details about its encryption methods, privacy policy, company background, or user reviews.

Why this product is good

  • Unable to verify claims about encryption or zero-knowledge architecture without independent confirmation
  • No access to current user reviews, ratings, or reputation data for this specific service
  • Cannot confirm company legitimacy, ownership, or track record
  • Unable to verify uptime, reliability, or actual security audit results
  • No information available on pricing structure or terms of service specifics

Recommended for

  • Before using, research independently via security audit reports if available
  • Check for third-party security reviews or penetration testing results
  • Verify the company's privacy policy and data handling practices directly on their site
  • Look for user reviews on independent platforms rather than relying on marketing claims
  • Consider established, well-audited alternatives if handling highly sensitive information

Analysis of RCDevs

Overall verdict

  • RCDevs is a solid choice for organizations seeking a comprehensive, self-hosted multi-factor authentication and identity security platform, particularly those wanting more control over their authentication infrastructure without relying on cloud-only SaaS providers.

Why this product is good

  • Offers a full suite of identity security products including MFA, SSO, and password management (OpenOTP, WebADM, OpenSSO)
  • Supports self-hosting, giving organizations full control over sensitive authentication data and compliance requirements
  • Broad protocol and integration support (RADIUS, LDAP, SAML, OAuth2, FIDO2/WebAuthn) making it compatible with diverse IT environments
  • Competitive pricing compared to larger enterprise IAM vendors, appealing to SMBs and mid-market companies
  • Strong support for hardware tokens, push notifications, and biometric authentication methods
  • European (Luxembourg-based) company, which can be advantageous for GDPR-focused compliance needs

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized businesses needing affordable, robust MFA solutions
  • Organizations with strict data sovereignty or on-premises hosting requirements
  • IT teams looking for flexible integration with legacy and modern authentication protocols
  • European companies prioritizing GDPR compliance
  • Enterprises wanting an alternative to major cloud-based IAM providers like Okta or Duo
  • Companies needing a unified platform for MFA, SSO, and self-service password management

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PrivacyNotes and RCDevs)
Note Taking
100 100%
0% 0
Identity And Access Management
Journal
100 100%
0% 0
SAML
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing PrivacyNotes and RCDevs.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer

Honestly? We have no idea, and that is the entire point. Signup is anonymous (a recovery phrase or Google, no email or personal details), the app ships zero analytics and zero trackers, and zero-knowledge encryption means we cannot see who you are or what you store. We could not name a single customer if we tried. A privacy product that tracked its users closely enough to brag about them would be missing the plot.

What makes your product unique?

PrivacyNotes's answer

PrivacyNotes is the only zero-knowledge encrypted workspace that keeps notes, tasks, journals, files, and a password vault behind one set of on-device keys. Most privacy apps do one of those well and rent it to you monthly. We do all five, encrypt everything with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it leaves your device, and charge once instead of forever. The encryption core is open core, published so the claims can be verified rather than trusted.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

PrivacyNotes's answer

Three reasons:

  • One app, not four subscriptions. Standard Notes, Day One, and Lunatask each rent you a slice (notes, journaling, tasks). PrivacyNotes covers all of them plus files and a vault, for a fair one-time fee.
  • Real zero-knowledge. Your keys come from a recovery phrase that never touches our servers, so we cannot read your notes, your filenames, or your metadata. Some encrypted apps leave note or task metadata in the clear; we do not.
  • Verifiable, not just trusted. The crypto and schema are open core and published for review, and there is no ad, tracker, or analytics anywhere in the app.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer

Privacy-conscious individuals and independent professionals who handle information they would not want a vendor reading: lawyers, journalists, healthcare and mental-health practitioners, developers, security specialists, researchers, and founders. It also fits anyone who simply wants one private home for their notes, tasks, journaling, and wellness tracking instead of spreading them across surveillance-funded apps.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer

React, TypeScript, Vite and Tailwind CSS.

What's the story behind your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer

PrivacyNotes started from a simple frustration: staying organized meant scattering your life across half a dozen apps, most of which could read everything you typed and billed you monthly for the privilege. We wanted one place for notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords, encrypted so thoroughly that the people running the servers could not read a word of it, and paid for once rather than forever. So we built the encryption first, made the keys live only on your device, and published the crypto as open core so the promise could be checked, not just believed. Everything else grew from one rule: your data is yours, and no one else's to mine.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PrivacyNotes and RCDevs

PrivacyNotes Reviews

  1. Everything I Needed in One App

    This app checks every box for me. Clean interface, no learning curve, local-first encryption, and secure sync across all of my devices.

    The biggest surprise is how many apps it replaced. Instead of juggling separate apps for notes, habits, mood, activities, and important dates, everything lives in one place now. It's made staying organized a lot simpler.

    Paying once and knowing I won't lose access to my workflow because I canceled yet another subscription is incredibly refreshing. That peace of mind is worth a lot to me.

  2. Feature rich

    The best thing about this: No subscription model, it's a one-time fee for a lifetime license. But you can start for free with the generous freemium model. I only needed to upgrade to pro because I wanted to use the app on my phone, laptop and desktop. Highly recommended! Btw, it's a perfect markdown editor as well, not sure why they don't emphasize this more.

RCDevs Reviews

We have no reviews of RCDevs yet.
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing PrivacyNotes and RCDevs, you can also consider the following products

Obsidian - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

Auth0 - Auth0 is a program for people to get authentication and authorization services for their own business use.

Standard Notes - A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work

Amazon Cognito - Amazon Cognito lets you add user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to your web and mobile apps quickly and easily. It scales to millions of users and supports sign-in with social identity providers and enterprise identity providers via SAML 2.0.

Apple Notes - Apple Notes functions as a service for making short text notes.

Devise - Flexible authentication solution for Rails with Warden.