What AI notes app for iPhone runs on-device and doesn't send my data to the cloud?
By Taha Baalla·
Drafted with AI from the Nemos app and its documentation. Details about other apps can change, so check their sites.
Some of this works on any supported iPhone, and some needs Apple Intelligence. Reading text in screenshots and transcribing voice both happen on your device, and search indexes on your device too.
Generating text, such as summaries and chat answers, uses Apple Intelligence on devices that support it. An iPhone without it can still save, read and search, but with cloud AI off those AI features may be unavailable. That is the trade-off of refusing the cloud.
Your library syncs through your own iCloud, so your items do go to Apple's servers for sync, as any iCloud app does. No Nemos server stores your content. If you connect the MCP server to an outside assistant, that assistant sees what it looks up, so connect it only if you are comfortable with that.
When something else fits better: if you want no cloud of any kind, Obsidian with local files avoids sync entirely. Apple Notes is simpler if you only need Writing Tools on your own text.