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Security report for standardnotes.com

Standard Notes · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Standard Notes is a privacy-focused, end-to-end encrypted note-taking application that offers free and paid plans with advanced security features. The company positions itself as an ethical and sustainable software provider with a strong emphasis on user privacy, open source code, and independent security audits. Their market niche is privacy-conscious users and professionals requiring secure digital note storage and syncing across devices. Technically, the website is built using modern frameworks like Gatsby and React, hosted via Cloudflare, and integrates privacy-respecting analytics (Plausible). The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and SEO. Security posture is strong with enforced HTTPS, encrypted data storage, and no employee access to user data. However, DNSSEC is not enabled and no explicit incident response contacts or cookie consent mechanisms are visible. Overall, the site demonstrates a mature security culture and trustworthy business model with room for minor improvements in compliance transparency.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of standardnotes.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  2. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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Keep watching standardnotes.com

This scan found 19 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
75
Security headers
70
Email security
65
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
75

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention standardnotes.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
553
Employees
0
Customers
553
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
8%

4 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for standardnotes.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Standard Notes operates on a freemium business model generating revenue solely from paying users without venture capital funding, indicating financial independence. The company has been in service since 2018 and maintains a consistent brand focused on privacy and security. Their open source and audited approach provides competitive advantages in the privacy software market. The target audience includes writers, legal professionals, journalists, and privacy-conscious individuals. The company maintains active social media channels and community forums, supporting user engagement and transparency. Strategic partnerships or subsidiaries are not evident from the data. The business emphasizes longevity and ethical data practices, positioning itself as a trusted alternative to mainstream note-taking apps.

Security posture

The security posture of Standard Notes is robust, leveraging industry best practices such as zero-knowledge encryption, end-to-end encryption, and independent third-party audits. The website enforces HTTPS and uses Cloudflare for DNS and CDN services, enhancing availability and protection against common web threats. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. However, the absence of DNSSEC and a published security.txt file slightly reduce the security maturity. Incident response contact information is not explicitly provided, which could hinder rapid communication in case of security events. Overall, the company demonstrates a strong security culture aligned with privacy-first principles.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement a cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply fully with GDPR cookie requirements.
  3. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure and improve transparency.
  4. Provide explicit incident response contact information (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email addresses) on the website.
  5. Continue maintaining open source code and regular independent security audits to reinforce trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Standard Notes
Description
Standard Notes is a free, secure note-taking app with powerful end-to-end encryption, unparalleled privacy features, and seamless cross-platform syncing on unlimited devices.
Key services
End-to-end encrypted note-taking, Cross-platform syncing, Offline access, Secure file storage
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Gatsby, Cloudflare, Plausible Analytics
Frameworks
Gatsby
Platforms
Web, Windows, Mobile (implied)
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Zero-knowledge encryption
  • Independent security audits
  • No employee access to user data
  • Offline data availability

Analytics and tracking

Services
Plausible Analytics
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Plausible Analytics
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking.
  2. Strong emphasis on privacy, security, and open source.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main page.
  4. No cookie consent banner detected despite GDPR compliance claims.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and good SEO practices.
  6. Social media presence across multiple platforms.
  7. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using Gatsby, a modern React-based static site generator, ensuring fast load times and good SEO. Hosting and DNS are managed via Cloudflare, providing CDN and security benefits. The site uses Plausible Analytics, a privacy-focused analytics tool, minimizing invasive tracking. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible with clear navigation and professional design. No CMS is detected, indicating a static site approach. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, with no signs of technical debt or outdated libraries. Performance is fast, and the site uses appropriate meta tags and Open Graph data for social sharing.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 75/100Medium25 findingsView report
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