Answers
Is there an offline notes app with on-device AI?
Yes, a few exist, though most notes apps with AI features send your notes to a cloud model. Prevon is built for this: notes stay on your device, and its search and assistant are designed to run there too — but it is in private beta and its AI features are not finished.
What to check
- Does the AI work with the network switched off? If not, it is not on-device, whatever the marketing says.
- Is there a fallback to a cloud model for “harder” requests? Some systems run small tasks locally and send the rest to a server.
- Are your notes stored on the device, or fetched from a server when you open them?
The options
Obsidian stores notes as local files and has no built-in AI; community plugins can connect it to a model running on your own computer. That works, but you assemble and maintain it yourself. Prevon vs Obsidian.
Apple Intelligence runs many tasks on the device but sends more complex requests to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, so it is not entirely offline. Prevon vs Apple Notes.
Prevon’s search matches notes by meaning, and its assistant files and tidies notes, using a model on your device. There is no cloud AI path in the app. Anything the assistant wants to change or delete asks you first. Prevon is in a private beta and has not had an independent security audit. It is designed so that we cannot read your notes; until someone outside the company has checked that, “designed” is the accurate word.
Prevon is in private beta.
There is no public download yet. Leave an email and we write once, when it opens to everyone.