Questions & answers

Only you. Footnote encrypts each note in your browser (AES-256-GCM) before it’s saved, with a key that never reaches our servers. We store only the encrypted note, which we can’t read — and neither could anyone who got hold of a copy of our database.

In the Footnote extension in your browser. With notes sync on, a copy is also kept in a hidden Footnote folder in your own Google Drive, so it can reach your other browsers. Your key is never stored on Footnote’s servers.

To show each note on the right page, we keep the page’s address (URL) and the time the note was saved in readable form. Your account details (name, email, picture) and everything you post in Discussions aren’t encrypted either.

No. We never have your key, so we can’t decrypt, reset or recover notes. That’s why notes sync keeps a copy of your key in your own Google Drive: as long as it’s there, signing in brings your notes back. You can also keep a readable copy of your notes, which doesn’t need the key at all.

Notes sync keeps your notes key in a hidden Footnote folder in your Google Drive (Google calls it the app-data folder). Then, when you sign in to Footnote on any browser or computer, the extension fetches your key from your Drive and your notes open — nothing else to do. Google asks you once to allow it, the first time you sign in; you can also turn it on in Footnote → Settings.

No. Google shows the permission as “See, create, and delete its own configuration data in your Google Drive.” It lets Footnote use only its own hidden folder. Footnote can’t see, open or change any of your other files, and the folder doesn’t appear in your Drive’s file list.

No. The extension in your browser gets the key straight from Google: it never passes through Footnote’s servers, so Footnote never has it. Google keeps the key file but never has your notes, which are stored, encrypted, with Footnote.

Your notes can be opened only where the two come together: in the Footnote extension, signed in as you.

Install Footnote from the Chrome Web Store and sign in with the same Google account. Footnote brings your key from your Google Drive, and your notes open.

Notes still work in that browser, and Chrome sync (if you use it) may copy your key to your other Chrome browsers. But if you remove the extension or reset the browser, notes saved there can’t be recovered. You can turn notes sync on at any time in Footnote → Settings.

Remove Footnote’s access in your Google Account’s security settings (third-party access), then delete the hidden data in Google Drive: Settings → Manage apps → Footnote → Delete hidden app data. Browsers that already have your key keep working, but if you later lose all of them, your notes can’t be recovered.

It was saved in a browser whose key hasn’t reached your Google account yet — usually because notes sync wasn’t on there. Open Footnote once in that browser with notes sync on, and the note unlocks everywhere. Footnote never overwrites a locked note. If its key is gone for good (for example, that browser was reset), you can choose “Start a new note instead,” which deletes the locked note after you confirm.

No. Updates never delete or replace keys, and every new version has to open the notes saved by every earlier version — we check that automatically before each release, and a version that fails can’t be built. With notes sync on, your key is also safe in your Google Drive, even if you uninstall and reinstall the extension.

Always the one from the Chrome Web Store. Other copies of the extension keep their own keys and can’t use notes sync, so notes saved with them may not open anywhere else.

Yes. In the Footnote extension, open Settings → Your notes → Download a readable copy (or use the download button in My Notes). You get one file with all your notes as plain text, grouped by site. It opens in any browser, on a computer or a phone, without Footnote. The extension makes it on your computer from the notes it can open, so it never passes through our servers.

The copy isn’t encrypted: anyone who has the file can read your notes. Keep it somewhere safe, and delete it when you no longer need it.

In the extension, open Settings → Your notes → Import a readable copy and choose the file. Footnote shows what it will do first, then encrypts the notes on your computer before saving them. It adds notes for pages that don’t have one and skips notes you already have. If a page already has a different note, yours is kept. A note that’s locked in that browser is replaced only if you tick the box to do so.

Importing doesn’t count toward your daily note limit, and neither does downloading a copy. Imported notes keep the date they were saved.

• Readable copy: opens anywhere, but isn’t encrypted. It comes from the Footnote extension, on every plan.
• Encrypted backup: stays encrypted, so it’s safe to keep anywhere, but it only opens in Footnote in a browser that has your key. You download and restore it on this website, at My Account → Notes (upgraded plans).

Downloading, importing or restoring either one doesn’t count toward your daily limits.

Yes. Your comments and replies, your display name and picture, and your votes are visible to everyone who uses Footnote on that page.

You can delete your own. Footnote’s admins, and domain managers we appoint for a website, can hide or delete comments on that website.

Yes. Each plan includes a number of notes and comments per day. In the extension, the counts under My Notes and My Discussions show what’s left today: 98/100 means 98 of 100 left. Footnote → Settings → Today’s Limits shows what you’ve used and what’s left.

Every day at midnight UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), the same moment for everyone, wherever you are. In U.S. time zones that’s:

• 5:00 PM Pacific, 6:00 PM Mountain, 7:00 PM Central and 8:00 PM Eastern during daylight saving time;
• 4:00 PM Pacific, 5:00 PM Mountain, 6:00 PM Central and 7:00 PM Eastern the rest of the year.

Footnote → Settings shows the exact reset time in your own time zone.

• Notes: each page you save a note on counts once a day. Editing that page’s note again the same day is free, and saving without changes doesn’t count.
• Comments: every comment and reply you post counts, including ones you delete later.
• Votes don’t count.
• Downloading a copy of your notes, importing one, or restoring a backup doesn’t count.

Email privacy@myfootnote.app from your account’s email address. We delete your profile, encrypted notes and comments within 30 days. To remove your key from Google Drive too, see above.

Privacy questions: privacy@myfootnote.app. Everything else, including legal questions: legal@myfootnote.app.