Three good Mac note apps, and the gap they leave.
Capture with its source, floating over full screen, out of the screen share, locked with Touch ID. One small app does all four. None of the three does.
Get HushNotesPay once. macOS 14 or later.
Capture with its source
One key keeps the line, the app and the page.
Floats over full screen
The note stays up while you work underneath it.
Out of the screen share
Your note windows are left out of the capture.
Locked with Touch ID
Any note closes behind your fingerprint.
What each one gives you.
Every line the other three win is here too.
| Capability | HushNotes | Apple Notes | Stickies | Bear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capture selected text from any app with one key | Yes, one key | NoQuick Note takes a Safari selection by right-click | PartialA Service you bind yourself | PartialRight-click only |
| Keeps where the text came from | YesApp, title and page URL | PartialA Safari link, via Quick Note | Not documented | Not documented |
| Floats above other apps, full screen included | Yes, full screen too | Quick Note, yesFull screen not documented | Floats, yesFull screen not documented | Floats, yesFull screen not documented |
| Hidden from screen sharing and screenshots | Yes, by default | Not offered | Not offered | Not offered |
| Hide every note from another app, with one key | Yes, one key⌥⇧H, and it relocks | No⌘H hides the front app only | No⌘H hides the front app only | No⌘H hides the front app only |
| Lock a note behind Touch ID | Yes, per note | YesWith documented exclusions | No | Yes, on Pro |
| Give each note its own paper and opacity | Six papers, 10–100%The paper fades, never the ink | Not documentedAppearance settings are app-wide | Colour and translucentTranslucent is on or off | Not documentedThemes, scope not documented |
| Works without an account | Yes, none exists | YesThe On My Mac account | Yes | YesCloudKit, no registration |
| Syncs to iPhone and iPad | NoMac only | Yes, free | No sync | Yes, on Pro |
| Export your notes | NoDoes not ship today | PDF and Markdown | Text, RTF, RTFD | Yes, full on Pro |
| Agents can read your notes | Yes, four toolsOff by default, no delete | Not documentedShortcuts can organise, not read | None | Yes, wider reach |
| Price | $9.99 once33% off at launch | Free | Free | $2.99 a month |
Pay once, keep it forever.
No account to make, no server behind it, and nothing to cancel later.
Get HushNotesNine things it does, four it will not.
Apple Notes and Bear cover all four of the second list. Stickies exports to plain text, RTF and RTFD.
HushNotes does
- Keep a selection from any app, one key
- Store the app, title and URL with it
- Float over full-screen apps
- Stay out of screen shares and screenshots
- Clear the desk from wherever you are
- Lock a note behind Touch ID
- Set each note’s paper and opacity
- Work with no account, offline, paid once
- Answer an agent, on your machine only
HushNotes does not
- Sync to your iPhone or iPad
- Share a note with another person
- Export your notes anywhere
- Organise anything by tags
Two of these are free.
$9.99 once is under four months of Bear Pro, and nothing after that. That is 33% off at launch, down from $14.99.
$9.99
One payment, three Macs.
Free
iCloud past 5 GB from $0.99 a month.
Free
Included with macOS.
$2.99/mo
Or $29.99 a year.
Your notes are on your screen, not in the share.
Every note window is left out of screen shares, recordings and screenshots, on by default.
It is Apple's mechanism rather than ours, so treat it as a strong privacy measure and not a guarantee, and check it against your own setup before a call that matters.
The awkward ones, answered.
Does it sync to my other devices?
No. The build sold here is the direct download and keeps every note on one Mac. iCloud sync belongs to the Mac App Store lane, which is not live.
Is there an iPhone or iPad app?
No. HushNotes is a Mac app, macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. There is nothing to install on a phone.
Can I bring my Apple Notes or Bear library across?
No. There is no import, so you start from today and keep the old library where it is. Most people run HushNotes alongside Apple Notes rather than instead of it.
What does screen-share invisibility not cover?
The menu bar item's own window, which AppKit owns and which holds no note content, and a camera pointed at your display. Treat it as a strong privacy measure and not a guarantee.
Can an agent read my notes?
Only if you switch it on. The listener is off by default and stays on the loopback address. Four tools, read-only to begin with, no delete and no edit, and locked notes are filtered out.
What does "Not documented" mean?
That the vendor publishes no answer. Nothing there was proven absent, only left undocumented, which is why it does not read No.
