Plume
Your journal.
Your eyes only.
81% of Americans believe data collection risks outweigh the benefits. Your most intimate thoughts deserve better than a company's server. Plume keeps your journal on your device, locked behind your face.
Source: Pew Research Center, Oct 2023 — survey of 5,101 U.S. adults
The privacy problem is real
These aren't hypotheticals. Real companies, real breaches, real consequences.
say data collection risks outweigh benefits
Pew Research, Oct 2023
Evernote accounts breached in 2013
CNN, TechCrunch
of people store sensitive info in note apps
DuckDuckGo / Spread Privacy survey
When cloud storage fails
A timeline of real incidents involving personal data stored on company servers.
Dropbox
68 million accounts stolen. An employee reused a password from the LinkedIn breach. The full scale wasn't disclosed until 4 years later.
Source: Bitdefender, Dark Reading
Evernote
50 million usernames, emails, and passwords exposed. The note-taking giant that stores people's most personal thoughts.
Source: CNN, TechCrunch
Evernote Policy Change
Evernote announced employees could read users' notes to improve machine learning. Reversed after 48 hours of backlash. CEO: "Our customers let us know that we messed up."
Source: TechCrunch
Timehop
21 million users' personal memories exposed. The attacker had access for 7 months before being detected. Cause: no multi-factor auth on admin accounts.
Source: TechCrunch, MIT Sloan
Microsoft Cloud
2.4 terabytes of customer data from 65,000+ companies across 100+ countries leaked via misconfigured storage.
Source: SentinelOne, Arcserve
Two architectures. One choice.
Where your journal entries live determines who can read them.
Most journaling apps
Plume
The concept of local-first software was formalized by researchers at Ink & Switch in a 2019 ACM paper defining seven ideals: fast, multi-device, offline, collaborative, long-lived, private, and user-controlled.
Source: Kleppmann et al., ACM SIGPLAN Onward! 2019
Privacy comparison
How Plume stacks up against every major journaling app on privacy. Verified against each app's official documentation.
| Feature | Plume | Day One | Journey | Penzu | Apple Journal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data stored on your device | ✓ | Optional | Optional | ✗ | ✓ |
| No account required | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Biometric lock (Face ID) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| No company servers | ✓ | ✗ | Depends | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works fully offline | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| No data collection | ✓ | Email + analytics | Account data | Name, email, age | On-device ML |
| One-time purchase | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Free |
| Native Apple app | ✓ | ✓ | Cross-platform | Web-based | ✓ |
| Structured journaling | ✓ | ✗ | Templates | ✗ | Prompts |
Sources: Day One Privacy FAQ (dayoneapp.com), Journey Privacy Policy (journey.cloud), Penzu (penzu.com), Apple iCloud Security Overview (support.apple.com)
Locked behind
your face
Plume uses Apple's Secure Enclave — a dedicated, isolated security chip that stores your biometric data. It never leaves your device, never gets backed up to iCloud, never gets sent anywhere.
Face ID: 1 in 1,000,000
The probability of a random person unlocking your journal. That's 100x more secure than a 4-digit passcode.
Source: Apple Security Guide
Secure Enclave isolation
Your biometric data is processed by a dedicated chip separate from the main processor. Even if the OS were compromised, the Enclave remains secure.
Source: Apple Platform Security Guide
5 attempts, then lockout
After 5 failed Face ID attempts, the device requires your passcode. Brute-force attacks are physically impossible.
Source: Apple Security Guide
Built on local-first principles
Seven principles defined by Ink & Switch researchers. Plume was designed around all of them.
Fast
No network round-trip. Every action is instant because data is already on your device.
Multi-device
Sync across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad through Apple's iCloud when you choose to.
Offline
Write anywhere. On a plane, in the woods, off the grid. No internet needed, ever.
Private
Your journal never touches anyone else's server. We never see your words.
Long-lived
Your journal works even if we disappear tomorrow. No server dependency means no sunset risk.
User-controlled
Export your data anytime. JSON, plain text. Your data, your format, your terms.
GDPR & CCPA simplified
137 countries have data protection laws. With local-first, most don't apply — because your personal data never leaves your device. No collection means no compliance burden.
Source: Cloud Security Alliance, GDPR Article 20
Start journaling
without compromise
One-time purchase. No subscription. No account. No servers. Just you and your thoughts.