Everything Apple Notes does well, and the three things it does not.
Apple Notes is free, syncs everywhere and exports to Markdown. It cannot take a selection from any app in one key, stay out of a screen share, or clear every note off the screen from another app.
Get HushNotesPay once. macOS 14 or later.
One key, not a right-click
Globe-Q opens empty; the selection needs a right-click, in Safari.
Stays over full screen
A Quick Note stays visible; over a full-screen app is not documented.
Out of the screen share
A Notes window is in the capture like any other.
One window or many
Notes stack into a deck you swipe, or spread across the desk.
As quiet as you set it
Fade a note to ten per cent, or clear every one with ⌥⇧H.
Both lock with Touch ID
Apple's lock is good, and it is not the difference.
What each one gives you.
Every line Apple Notes wins is here too.
| Capability | HushNotes | Apple Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Capture selected text from any app with one key | Yes, one key | NoQuick Note takes a Safari selection by right-click |
| Keeps where the text came from | YesApp, title and page URL | PartialA Safari link, via Quick Note |
| Floats above other apps, full screen included | Yes, full screen too | Quick Note, yesFull screen not documented |
| Hidden from screen sharing and screenshots | Yes, by default | 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 |
| Lock a note behind Touch ID | Yes, per note | YesWith documented exclusions |
| Give each note its own paper and opacity | Six papers, 10–100%The paper fades, never the ink | Not documentedAppearance settings are app-wide |
| Works without an account | Yes, none exists | YesThe On My Mac account |
| Syncs to iPhone and iPad | NoMac only | Yes, free |
| Export your notes | NoDoes not ship today | PDF and Markdown |
| Agents can read your notes | Yes, four toolsOff by default, no delete | Not documentedShortcuts can organise, not read |
| Price | $9.99 once33% off at launch | Free |
Nothing has to move.
The library stays where it is. The line you just pulled out of a log comes here.
Get HushNotesNine things it does, four it will not.
Apple Notes covers all four of the second list.
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
- Hold scans, drawings and attachments
- Export your notes anywhere
One of these is free.
Apple does not sell anything of yours to keep it that way, and this one is paid once.
$9.99
One payment, three Macs.
Free
iCloud past 5 GB from $0.99 a month.
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.
Do I have to stop using Apple Notes?
No, and most people should not. Keep the long-lived library, the scans and anything the phone needs in Apple Notes, and use this for the working line.
Can I bring my Apple Notes across?
No. There is no import, so you start from today and leave the old library where it is.
Does it sync to my iPhone?
No. The build sold here keeps every note on one Mac, and there is no iPhone or iPad app. Apple Notes does that part for free.
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.
What does "Not documented" mean?
That Apple publishes no answer on that one row. Nothing there was proven absent, only left undocumented, which is why it does not read No.
