How does Saber keep handwritten notes private?

Updated

Saber keeps handwritten notes private by encrypting them so that only you can access them, and by publishing its source code so anyone can inspect how that protection works. According to the site, notes are encrypted and stored securely, and "not even the server can read them." The same page states that Saber is free and open source software, with the code available on GitHub.

What "private" means in Saber

The site's privacy claim rests on two ideas:

  • Only you can access your notes. The page states plainly that only you can access your notes.
  • The server can't read them. Because notes are encrypted, syncing them across devices doesn't require trusting the server with readable content.

That second point matters for a handwriting app. If you write on a tablet and read on a phone or computer, your notes have to travel between devices. Saber's approach is to sync encrypted notes rather than plain ones, so the sync path never exposes what you wrote.

The two mechanisms behind it

1. Encryption in storage and sync

Saber's page describes notes as "encrypted and stored securely," and says you can sync across devices "knowing that they are encrypted." The stated result is that the server cannot read your notes. In practice, this is the difference between a service that promises not to look at your notes and one whose design means it can't read them in normal operation.

2. Open source code you can review

Saber is free and open source software, and the site points to GitHub for the code. For a privacy-focused tool, this is the part that lets you verify claims instead of taking them on faith: you (or someone you trust) can read the implementation and see how encryption and storage are handled.

The page also links to a privacy policy for the formal description of data handling.

What this means for your decision

Question What the site supports
Can the server read my notes? No — notes are encrypted and the server can't read them
Who can access my notes? Only you
Can I sync across devices privately? Yes — sync is described as encrypted across phone, tablet, or computer
Can I check the privacy claims myself? Yes — Saber is open source, code on GitHub
Where are the formal terms? The linked privacy policy

If your main concern is whether a handwriting notes app can be trusted with personal writing, Saber's answer is structural: encryption keeps the server out of your content, and open source lets you confirm it. If you need details the page doesn't cover — such as exactly which encryption scheme is used or how keys are managed — the GitHub repository and the privacy policy are the places to look, since those specifics aren't stated on the page itself.