Android app for keeping encrypted notes

Last update: Nov 17, 2022

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Overview

SealNote

ARCHIVED! NOT MAINTAINED!

SealNote is simple notes/notepad application which focuses on security and simplicity. Your notes are password protected using 256-bit AES encryption. Keep sensitive information always available without compromising security!

Password protection (256-bit AES encryption)
Color code your notes
Password expires after configurable timeout
Protect content from screenshots, window switcher and other non-secure displays
Multi-column layout with number of columns optimized for your screen size.
Simple and easy to use UI/UX
No ads ever!

Advantage of encrypting notes

Keep private information such as credit cards, bank account and passwords in a single place
Notes are encrypted locally so no one else can access them, unless they have password.
Since encryption is done at storage level, access of notes directly from disk is not possible. Hence if you ever lose phone, you won't lose your notes to thieves.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why not use XYZ app with application lock?

Application locks prevents user from opening application, but does not secure the storage. Hence adversary can simply access the storage file directly and read the content.

If someone connects phone to computer and copies/read the data file storingall the notes, can't they read everything?

They can't. No one can, regardless how they access the data file (unless they have your secret password). The application uses a technique called encryption. Encryption uses your password to convert notes to unreadable form which makes no sense to anyone even computer. This can be converted back to readable text only using exact same password.

I forgot my password. How do I recover my notes?

You can't. Your password is not stored anywhere but in your brain. If you lose your password, you will lose all your notes. Storing password locally or on server is a security hole which should be avoided.

I can't take screenshots from app or I see blank screenshot in application switcher. What's wrong?

You probably have enabled "Secure Window" feature in SealNote settings. Disable it to be able to take screenshots or show window content in application switcher.

Contributing

Contributions are much appreciated. Please go through this section to understand how and what to contribute.

If you need ideas for contribution, please check currently open issues. If you want to propose a new feature, please open a new issue. A good feature can be something which improves some workflow or security for a user.

Tools of trade

Java 1.7+
Android API Level 19+

How to submit a pull request

Clone sealnote: git clone https://github.com/vishesh/sealnote.git && cd sealnote
Verify that build succeeds: ./gradlew assembleDebug
Create a topic branch: git checkout -b feature
Make your changes.
Fork sealnote on GitHub.
Add your fork as remote: git remote add <YOUR-USER> https://github.com/<YOUR-USER>/sealnote.git
Push to your fork: git push -u <YOUR-USER> HEAD
Open a pull request against master branch describing your changes.

Style Guide

The project follows Google's Java Style Guide with following exceptions:

4 spaces indentation instead of 2.
Horizontal alignment is recommended if it makes code more readable.

If you see any violation, feel free to submit a patch.

Commit guidelines

There is no strict guideline on commit messages. However, whenever possible, follow Git-book's guidelines.

Documentation updates

We value documentation and believe in continuous improvement. All the documents can be considered living documents, unless stated otherwise. Please follow the general contribution guidelines when submitting a patch for documents.

Contact

Homepage: www.twistedplane.com Email : [email protected]

Send bugs to the above email with [Sealnote][BUG] tags in subject.

Comments

Binary libraries are preventing implementing SealNote into F-Droid's repo

For reference: https://f-droid.org/forums/topic/sealnote/

I was looking into apps that are stuck in the F-Droid submission queue, and wish to see where I could assist to push these processes forward.

It seems that the binary libraries here are the issue in this case, as they are precompiled items that could pose a potential security threat in the eyes of those that appreciate full transparency. I do not know how to proceed, however, so I was hoping you may have insight!

opened by chadcurtis 11
Feature request: import/export

I am keeping several long-term notes that I carry across generations of devices and operating systems. For that it would be a prerequisite to have an import/export function to/from a simple and open file format, such as plaintext.

opened by netge 4
Hardcoded string makes sentence untranslatable

There is a hardcoded string in file SealnoteFragment.java, method onAdapterDataSetChanged(). This makes it impossible to translate the string without touching the code. The line I'm talking about is: mEmptyGeneric.setText(getActivity().getActionBar().getTitle() + " is empty!"); https://github.com/vishesh/sealnote/blob/master/Sealnote/src/main/java/com/twistedplane/sealnote/fragment/SealnoteFragment.java#L182

I also noticed that, for dialogues where a "Cancel" button is present, the string for "Cancel" is not read from strings.xml but uses the OS default for the selected language

opened by Tamarindo94 3
Github releases for stable versions

Hello once more! It looks like SealNote has been accepted into the F-Droid repo, but they were curious about the addition of stable version tags.

It's an argument of ease for the maintainers, as it appears that someone will have to push new versions of the app to F-Droid manually if tagged releases are not present. Would you be interested in releasing in such a fashion?

Once more, thank you for your quick and kindly replies to these matters!

opened by chadcurtis 3
FIX: App crashes when password is null or tags are retrieved from parcel FIXES #25
Check for null password and navigate to PasswordActivity if true. When app permissions are revoked manually, the password in the memory is lost and the app crashes.

Pass note to NoteContent.FromString. Tags are passed to NoteContent instead of note that cause the tags to be null when read from parcel.
opened by rohitramkumar308 2
Issue #25 Fix: Bunch of reports with this stacktrace. Might be happening because we don't persist password, and during wakeup its gone from memory.

Issue #25 Fix: Bunch of reports with this stacktrace. Might be happening because we don't persist password, and during wakeup its gone from memory.

Replicating: Manually revoke permissions while in the Application.

opened by rohitramkumar308 2

Crashes at wakeup

Bunch of reports with this stacktrace. Might be happening because we don't persist password, and during wakeup its gone from memory.

java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.twistedplane.sealnote/com.twistedplane.sealnote.NoteActivity}: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String[] java.lang.String.split(java.lang.String)' on a null object reference
	at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3319)
	at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3415)
	at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1100(ActivityThread.java:229)
	at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1821)
	at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:102)
	at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:148)
	at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:7325)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
	at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:1230)
	at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:1120)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String[] java.lang.String.split(java.lang.String)' on a null object reference
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.Note.convertToTagSet(Note.java:118)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.Note.readFromParcel(Note.java:97)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.Note.<init>(Note.java:76)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.Note$1.createFromParcel(Note.java:250)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.Note$1.createFromParcel(Note.java:248)
	at android.os.Parcel.readParcelable(Parcel.java:2367)
	at android.os.Parcel.readValue(Parcel.java:2264)
	at android.os.Parcel.readArrayMapInternal(Parcel.java:2614)
	at android.os.BaseBundle.unparcel(BaseBundle.java:221)
	at android.os.BaseBundle.getBoolean(BaseBundle.java:659)
	at android.app.Activity.restoreHasCurrentPermissionRequest(Activity.java:7153)
	at android.app.Activity.performCreate(Activity.java:6903)
	at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1136)
	at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3266)
	... 9 more

java.lang.RuntimeException: An error occured while executing doInBackground()
	at android.os.AsyncTask$3.done(AsyncTask.java:304)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.finishCompletion(FutureTask.java:355)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.setException(FutureTask.java:222)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:242)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1112)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:587)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:818)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Password null or not acceptable
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.DatabaseHandler.update(DatabaseHandler.java:84)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.DatabaseHandler.getWritableDatabase(DatabaseHandler.java:110)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.DatabaseHandler.getReadableDatabase(DatabaseHandler.java:115)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.DatabaseHandler.getNotesCursor(DatabaseHandler.java:558)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.AdapterLoader.loadInBackground(AdapterLoader.java:30)
	at com.twistedplane.sealnote.data.AdapterLoader.loadInBackground(AdapterLoader.java:13)
	at android.content.AsyncTaskLoader.onLoadInBackground(AsyncTaskLoader.java:312)
	at android.content.AsyncTaskLoader$LoadTask.doInBackground(AsyncTaskLoader.java:69)
	at android.content.AsyncTaskLoader$LoadTask.doInBackground(AsyncTaskLoader.java:57)
	at android.os.AsyncTask$2.call(AsyncTask.java:292)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:237)
	... 3 more

bug urgent

opened by vishesh 2

Message of Note Saved even after note is empty

After i trying to save an empty note it showed me the message "No point of saving empty Note" in plain text note and immediately it showed me the Note saved. I am attaching one zip in which i have attached one video. Seal Note Error.zip

.
bug

opened by chintandesai49 2
Don't show actual screenshot on recent apps view

Sealnote provides password protection and this works as expected inside the app. BUT, if I leave the app (e.g. with the back or home button), the last view is shown in the android recent apps list. This allows to see quite a big part of the encrypted information, without ever typing any password.

It would be nice if the app could immediately lock before going to the background, or always show a static image at recent apps view.

I have observed the same problem also in other "password-protected" apps, like dropbox.

opened by MakisH 2
Added translation files and made changes for better translatability

-Added Italian translation for strings.xml and array.xml -Added German translation for array.xml (may need corrections) -PasswordInput.java: moved the array with the values for password strength to array.xml, so those values can be translated, too -SealnoteFragment.java: changed the hardcoded string at line 182, now it's read from strings.xml (and added the translation for the string to strings-de.xml); there is still a problem since this approach doesn't allow to correctly translate the sentence to languages where Archive and Trash require being preceded by different articles depending on the word (like Italian) or where Archive and Trash are of different genders and require the adjective for "empty" to be concordant with the gender. I thought of two possible ways to solve this, but implemented neither since you might want to decide your preferred approach: --use a different string for each folder; this would require some change in the code in order to retrieve the correct string at runtime; I can do this if you're ok with it --use only the word "empty" without naming the folder

opened by Tamarindo94 1
Feature request: search within the note!

Hi guys! Love the app, the only feature I and sure many others really need is a search function within the note to quickly locate stuff by the key word. Then I would never switch to any other app, this one would be all time best!

opened by antiacid 1
Feature Request: disappearing note

I think It may be a good idea to introduce an option that allows the automatic deletion of some notes after a specified interval of time (for exemple 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, 1 d, 1 w etc.), in order to keep the database clean and add an additional security feature. Thanks for keep this app the best of its kind!

opened by artoborty 0
Washed Out Colors

Tagged color always appears washed out when a note is opened. But it looks fine in the main menu. No, there's no issue with my phone's screen.

Do check.

Thanks.

opened by ghost 1
Backup wizard stucks at end

v0.8.7 #27 When I presses 'Backup' button from settings, system asks me what to do with backup file. But previously (before March update) I had an option to save .db file to local storage disk with my file explorer as file saver. It easily saves backup. But after update, system is giving only 'gmail' and other options for saving .db files without any file manager option. Even if I selects any option, only rotating indicator shows. Nothing happens. Help.

opened by itsKV 2
Import Notes from Google Keep

Hi there,

It would be very convenient to add an option to import notes from Google Keep, or at least an html file.

Indeed I am currently trying to migrate from Keep to SealNotes, and copying all the notes by hand is quite painful.

Cheers !

opened by mhham 0

Android app for keeping encrypted notes

Related tags

Overview

SealNote

Advantage of encrypting notes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why not use XYZ app with application lock?

If someone connects phone to computer and copies/read the data file storingall the notes, can't they read everything?

I forgot my password. How do I recover my notes?

I can't take screenshots from app or I see blank screenshot in application switcher. What's wrong?

Contributing

Tools of trade

How to submit a pull request

Style Guide

Commit guidelines

Documentation updates

Contact

Comments

Owner

Vishesh Yadav

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