Profiles and Privacy

What is a profile?

A profile is a self-contained note collection with its own storage location, privacy settings, and user identity. Think of it as a completely separate notebook that shares nothing with other profiles.

Profiles let you:

Maintain separate collections for work and personal use
Keep sensitive notes in a locked-down privacy mode while keeping everyday notes unrestricted
Share a computer without mixing note collections

Each profile has its own storage directory, so notes from different profiles never end up in the same folder or sync stream.

Profile modes

When you create a profile, you choose a mode that determines default settings.

Local

The standard mode. Notes are stored locally in ~/Library/Application Support/NoteCove/profiles/{profile-id}/storage. You choose whether link previews are enabled. You can add cloud-synced storage directories later.

Best for: everyday personal notes, general use.

Cloud

Like Local, but starts with a cloud-synced storage directory (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive). Everything else is the same.

Best for: users who want sync from day one.

Paranoid

Maximum privacy. All network features are disabled — no link unfurling, no favicon fetching, no link preview requests. Storage is local only (~/Library/Application Support/NoteCove/profiles/{profile-id}/storage). You cannot add cloud storage directories. Settings are locked so they cannot be weakened accidentally.

Best for: confidential notes, air-gapped systems, anything where even metadata leakage is a concern.

Custom

Full control over every setting. Choose any storage location, any privacy configuration. No restrictions.

Best for: advanced users with specific requirements.

What Paranoid mode blocks

Paranoid mode disables any feature that could make a network request based on note content:

Link preview requests: pasting a YouTube link does not fetch a preview card
Favicon fetching: links do not show site icons
Link unfurling: all links appear as plain text

These settings are locked — you cannot re-enable them without creating a new profile.

Regardless of mode, these properties always hold:

Local storage: your notes are files on your device, not on a remote server
No telemetry: NoteCove never sends note content, usage data, or analytics anywhere
No accounts: there is no NoteCove account or server to create
Your cloud, your choice: if you sync, you do so through your own cloud storage — NoteCove has no access to it

Switching profiles

On launch, NoteCove shows a profile picker. Select an existing profile or create a new one. If you set a default profile, the picker is skipped.