Frequently Asked Questions

PrivStack is one app that replaces your notes, tasks, calendar, budget, email, habits, journal, contacts, encrypted files, code snippets, RSS reader, and more — with 14 modules, 200+ features, and cross-linking between everything. It's also end-to-end encrypted: all your data stays on your devices and syncs peer-to-peer or through your own cloud storage (encrypted before upload). We never see your data.

Privacy-conscious professionals, developers, lawyers, journalists, founders — anyone who wants productive software without surveillance. If you've ever worried about who can read your notes or see your schedule, PrivStack is for you.

The Rust core engine, .NET desktop shell, and relay server are source-available under the Polyform Strict license — read every line on GitHub. First-party plugins are closed source. If PrivStack ever shuts down, we'll open source all first-party plugins too, so the community can continue the project.

Most productivity apps store your data on their servers — we don't. PrivStack encrypts everything on your device. We mathematically cannot read your notes, see your tasks, or access your calendar. Privacy isn't a feature; it's the architecture.

The Android app is in the final stages of development and launching soon. iOS is planned after Android. Join the waitlist on our download page to be notified when they launch.

No, by design. A web app would require your unencrypted data to be processed on our servers, which defeats the purpose. PrivStack is native apps only — your data stays on your devices.

Software licenses. That's it. You pay for the product, you're the customer. No ads, no data mining, no selling your information. Sustainable software from people who respect you.

No. It's mathematically impossible. Your data is encrypted with keys derived from your password, which never leaves your device. We don't have your password, we don't have your keys, we don't have your data.

ChaCha20-Poly1305 for content encryption, Argon2id for key derivation, BLAKE3 for hashing. Industry-standard, modern algorithms. No proprietary or experimental cryptography.

We have minimal servers, and they don't contain your data. At most, attackers could get email addresses and license information — not your notes, tasks, or calendar, because those never touch our systems.

We can't provide what we don't have. If law enforcement demands your data, we'd hand over an encrypted blob that's useless without your password. We can't decrypt it. They can't decrypt it.

No telemetry at all. We don't track usage, collect analytics, or phone home. Zero. The app runs on your device and that's where the data stays.

Email address (account management), license key (activation), and payment information (processed by Stripe — we don't see card numbers). That's the complete list.

We're pursuing a formal security audit. Our cryptographic code is open source for community review. We'll publish audit results when complete.

We cannot recover your data. Your password generates the encryption keys, and we never have those keys. Use a strong, memorable password and consider a password manager. This is the price of true privacy.

Yes. We collect minimal data, you can export/delete anytime, and your content is encrypted so we can't access it anyway. GDPR compliance is easy when you barely have any data to protect.

Block-based editor with rich text, headings, lists, code blocks with syntax highlighting, images, file attachments, markdown support, wiki-style [[backlinks]], and full-text search.

List view, Kanban boards, GTD-style inbox, calendar timeline. Recurring tasks, subtasks, priorities, due dates, projects, tags, and quick capture with natural language.

Day, week, month, and agenda views. Import via CalDAV, create events, set reminders, link events to notes and tasks. Recurring events and time zone support.

Duncan is PrivStack's AI assistant. It includes RAG semantic search across all your data (notes, tasks, journal, calendar, and more), intent classification that executes actions across plugins (create tasks, add events, draft notes via chat), speech-to-text via local Whisper (Cmd+M), and multi-provider support (OpenAI, Groq, Mistral, or local models via Ollama). All AI features are opt-in and never enabled by default.

A built-in structured data module with a full SQL query engine. Create datasets, write and execute SQL queries with autocomplete, dry-run mode, and even cross-dataset JOINs. Think of it as a private, encrypted database you can query without leaving the app.

Isolated environments for different contexts — personal, work, side projects. Each workspace has its own data, settings, and sync rules. Enable only the plugins you need per workspace and switch contexts instantly.

Yes. PrivStack has a full plugin architecture — all major features (notes, tasks, calendar, journal, contacts, etc.) are built as plugins. A plugin marketplace for community-built extensions is in development.

Yes. Export anytime in standard formats (Markdown for notes, JSON for tasks and calendar, ICS for calendar events). Your data is never trapped.

Your devices connect directly (peer-to-peer) and sync encrypted data. On local networks, devices find each other automatically. Over the internet, encrypted tunnels are established. Optionally, sync via cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud) with data encrypted before upload.

No data servers. We run relay servers that help devices establish connections when direct connection isn't possible (NAT, firewalls), but all traffic through relays is end-to-end encrypted — we see only noise.

Relay servers help establish connections. Your data is always encrypted end-to-end, so relays only pass encrypted packets they can't read. You can also use cloud sync as a fallback.

Always. Every sync connection — peer-to-peer, relay, or cloud — uses end-to-end encryption. Your data is encrypted before leaving your device and decrypted only on your other devices.

On local networks: near-instant. Over the internet: depends on connection quality, but typically within seconds for small changes. We use CRDTs for efficient sync of only what changed.

We use CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) to handle concurrent edits. If you edit the same note on two devices, changes merge automatically without conflicts or data loss.

Absolutely. Work offline, and changes sync when you reconnect. Your data is always fully available locally — you're never dependent on an internet connection.

No, but monthly and annual plans include a 7-day free trial with full access (card authorization at signup). Free tiers usually mean your data is the product — we prefer to be honest about our business model.

7 days of full access to all features with card authorization. After the trial, your plan activates automatically. Cancel anytime during the trial to pay nothing. Your data stays on your devices either way.

One payment, permanent access. As long as PrivStack exists, you get all updates, all new features. The Rust core engine, .NET desktop shell, and relay server are already publicly available under Polyform Strict — your investment is protected regardless of what happens to us.

Your data is on your devices in standard formats — you never lose it. The Rust core engine, .NET desktop shell, and relay server are already publicly available under Polyform Strict. If PrivStack shuts down, we'll open source all first-party plugins too, so the community can continue the project.

macOS 12+, Windows 10+, or Ubuntu 22.04+. 4GB RAM minimum (8GB recommended for AI features). 500MB disk space.

The app is about 200MB. Your data is stored efficiently with compression. AI models (optional) can add 1-4GB depending on which you enable.

On your device, in your user data directory. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/PrivStack. Windows: %APPDATA%/PrivStack. Linux: ~/.local/share/privstack.

Yes. Back up the data directory directly, or use the built-in export feature. Your backups are encrypted with your password.

Only with your consent. You control when and whether updates install. We'll notify you of available updates, but you decide.

Yes. All releases include SHA256 checksums. Verify your download matches the published checksum to ensure integrity.

Yes. Import Markdown files, Evernote exports (ENEX), and calendar data (CalDAV/ICS). More importers coming based on user requests.

Yes. Import from any CalDAV-compatible calendar (Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, etc.) or ICS files.

Markdown (notes), JSON (structured data), ICS (calendar). All standard formats that work with other tools.

Export your data anytime in standard formats. We don't lock you in. Your data is yours — take it wherever you want.

Team and enterprise features (shared spaces, SSO, audit logs) are actively being worked on. Get in touch if you're interested — we'll notify you when they're ready.