How long does Evernote keep my notes for? Changes to the Data Retention Policy.

Newsletter housekeeping: The latest version for PC & Mac is 10.140.3. You can grab it from the download page. Latest mobile version is also 10.140.4.

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There have been some changes to Evernotes data retention policy and whilst it may sound dramatic it’s not really and to save some extra drama this doesn't affect any paid accounts.

How long does Evernote keep my notes for?

What’s happening is that free accounts which have been inactive for 3 or more years will have their data deleted. Notes will be gone.

Paid accounts are classed as active so nothing changes.

Email notifications will be sent and you can reset the 3-year clock by logging into your account.

This is the official quote I got from Evernote.

Under our Terms and Privacy Policy, we close accounts that have been inactive for three or more years. This helps protect the security of the platform and ensures compliance with applicable privacy and data protection standards.

You can view the section of the privacy policy relating to this here.

Let’s dig into this a bit more.

When the "cloud" started around 2008ish companies like Evernote, Google and everyone else were promising the earth just to get you to use the cloud. Let’s face it, before 2008 we all got our work done fine, we were more productive than we are now (many studies say this) and we didn't really need the cloud.

So, we were promised the earth from all these apps, for free and folks told us our data would be secure forever.

Spin forward almost 20 years and the world is a different place. Many different privacy and security laws have been bought in that change what was offered many years ago.

As consumers, a lot of us are slowly becoming more savvy about where we put our data and we all read articles every day about hacks and data being stolen.

For example, I never tick the save my credit card details any more when online shopping.

So, this ramble brings us to Evernote. In 2025 should Evernote or any other app hold our notes forever even if we don't use the app anymore?

If we stop using an app, should we as consumers be more vigilant and export and delete our data? I've started doing this.

European GDPR laws have a section about data retention and companies are told not to store data for the hell of it. They’re told to remove data when there is no longer a relationship with the customer. The company can decide what that time period is, but it needs to be reasonable.

This is from the UKs Information Commissioners Office:

• You must not keep personal data for longer than you need it.

• You need to think about – and be able to justify – how long you keep personal data. This will depend on your purposes for holding the data.

• You need a policy setting standard retention periods wherever possible, to comply with documentation requirements.

• You should also periodically review the data you hold, and erase or anonymise it when you no longer need it.

• You must carefully consider any challenges to your retention of data. Individuals have a right to erasure if you no longer need the data.

• You can keep personal data for longer if you are only keeping it for public interest archiving, scientific or historical research, or statistical purposes.

You can read more about GDPR data retention here.

So, what Evernote have done is decide that its relationship with you ends after 3 years of non-activity which basically means logging into your account.

You are emailed to say your data will be removed and the account closed.

This policy is not just exclusive to Evernote. I've recently had a couple of old Zoho accounts deleted, Toggl keeps free plan data for 6 months, Google removes data after in-activity.

Back in 2008 we were all sold a utopian view of the cloud to get us using it but in reality, all this data can't be kept forever as it poses a huge security risk.

Know where your data is in the cloud at all times.

What do you think of this new policy? Let me know in the comments.

Small change to the move note window

Get yourself on the latest version to see a very small change to the Move Note window.

We can now create a new notebook or new space directly from the window. Useful?

Feedback needed for improvements to the mobile editor

The Evernote team looking for feedback on improvements around mobile editor functionality for Android, iPhones and tablets.

What pain points or friction do you experience with the note editor itself?

I'm gathering feedback in a Taming the Trunk chat and will pass it on.

The TTT chat is available for all free and paid subscribers.

And finally...

A new official video is out talking about the new global font changes in the app.

I wrote about it a couple of weeks ago but if you want to watch the lowdown then check this out.

That's it for this week

Have a great weekend

All the best

Jon