AMA 44: Can I use Evernote to store passwords?
This week on Ask Me Anything about Evernote we have a question from Ben.
If you have a question you’d love an answer to then leave it in the comments below and I’ll add it to the list.
Ben asks
Can I use Evernote to store passwords?
You can, but I would advise not to.
It’s not because Evernote isn't secure, it’s just that we probably need a higher level of security for our passwords.
The way Evernote works is you write a note and it’s encrypted when it’s transferred from your device to the Evernote servers.
Its then encrypted when it’s stored on the Evernote servers but Evernote hold the key to decrypt this information so you can use functionality like search, AI tools etc which rely on server processing.
My recommendation for passwords is to use a proper password manager.
If you use a password manager on whatever device the passwords are encrypted locally using your password, on your device and then sent to the cloud where no one can decrypt it unless they have your password so you are sending encrypted data to the server.
This gives you a higher level of security as the cloud/server provider doesn't have the key to decrypt.
One Evernote feature that could be useful is Encrypt selected text.
Encryption only works on Mac and PC, not phones but you can decrypt on phones.
Highlight some text and then right click and choose Encrypt selected text.
Choose a password and the text is encrypted.
Evernote doesn't know the password so don't forget it or you'll never be able to get into the data.
Theoretically you could use this function for storing passwords but none of the encrypted text would appear in search so it would be difficult to find what you want.
It’s best to use a proper password manager. I use Zoho Vault. Bitwarden is also popular.
I hope that helps Ben.
Love to hear what folks think about storing passwords in Evernote. Do you?
Would it be cool to have an encrypted notebook?
Let me know in the comments.
Have a great rest of the week
All the best
Jon
I do have some text in EN that is "Encrypted". Not a lot and no passwords.
Using an specialized app for passwords can make things so much easier to navigate web sites and other things with auto fill from the app.
For several years now, I've been using1Password as a vault for everything from passwords, credit cards, bank accounts...
One of the things that I like about it is that I can share items with my better half.
I do use Evernote to store my passwords. I have them in an Excel spreadsheet that is password protected and then the note is loaded into Evernote.