Questions, answered.
Is Etona private?
Your notes are never used for ads or sold, but not everything stays on your device: they back up to our cloud, and if you allow AI, Google's Gemini reads their text. Every note saves on your device first. Search, reading text in photos and PDFs, and transcribing voice memos happen on your iPhone. Our cloud encrypts your notes in transit and at rest, but not end to end. The full list is in Where your notes go.
Does Google train its AI on my notes?
No: Etona uses Gemini under Google's paid terms, which don't let Google use what we send to improve its products or train its models. Google keeps it for up to 55 days, only to check for abuse. Your photos and recordings never go to Gemini, only the words read from them.
Does Etona work offline?
Yes, for writing and search: notes save on your device instantly and search works with no connection. Reading photos and voice memos and finding names also work offline, once Etona has downloaded its 107 MB language model over Wi‑Fi. Sync, and anything that uses Gemini (themes, theme pages, Ask and Your week), waits until you're back online.
Is Etona only for iPhone and iPad?
Yes: Etona is an app for iPhone and iPad, with no Mac, Android or web version. You sign in with Apple or an email address, so your notes back up and appear on any iPhone or iPad you sign in to. To read them on a computer, export them as Markdown.
What languages does Etona work in?
You can write in any language, though Etona's menus and buttons are in English for now. Search and finding names were tested in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Hindi, and themes and pages in English, Korean and Japanese. Your week is written in the language most of that week's notes are in.
What's free, and what's in Etona Pro?
Writing is free: capture from anywhere, search, names, sync, import and export. Etona Pro adds themes, a page for each theme, Ask, Your week and Sky, for $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year. The yearly plan comes with 14 days free. Etona offers it when your first themes form, usually after about 20 notes, and you can start it from Settings any time. Pro runs on Google’s Gemini, which charges us for every note it reads, so it’s a subscription.
What happens if I stop paying for Pro?
Your notes stay, and writing, search, names, sync, import and export keep working. Themes, theme pages, Ask, Your week and Sky pause until you subscribe again, and you can export everything at any time.
Can I use Etona with AI turned off?
Yes: with AI off, nothing goes to Google's Gemini, and Etona still saves, syncs, searches and finds names on your device, reads your photos and voice memos, and imports and exports. Themes, theme pages, Ask and Your week need AI, so they wait until you turn it on in Settings › AI. Etona Pro needs AI on to do its work.
Can I import my notes, and export them?
Yes, both. Etona imports Apple Notes (exported as Markdown), Obsidian vaults, Evernote .enex files, ChatGPT and Claude exports, Markdown and text files, and Etona's own exports. Export saves every note as Markdown in one zip, with photos, recordings, files, theme pages and names. Importing the same export twice creates no duplicates.
How accurate are theme pages and answers?
They're written by AI from your notes and can be wrong, so every sentence shows where it came from. Each sentence on a theme page cites the notes it's based on, and Etona drops any sentence it can't source. Ask quotes the note it used, checks the quote is really in that note, and says “Your notes don't say” rather than guess. When it matters, tap the number and read the note.
How do I delete my account?
In Etona, go to Settings › Delete account: it deletes every note, on your device and in our cloud, and it can't be undone. Export first if you want a copy. Deleting your account doesn't cancel Etona Pro, because Apple bills it: cancel in Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions. A marker that the account was deleted stays for 30 days, and copies in Google's backups and abuse logs expire on their own, within 180 and 55 days. The Privacy Policy says exactly what goes.
Who makes Etona?
Etona is made by Justin through Works Pretty Good LLC, a small company in New York. He started it to keep his own sparks, the ideas and small moments he didn't want to lose. There are no ads: Etona is paid for by the people who subscribe to Pro. Write to support@etona.app, and a person reads it.