Show HN: InstaNote – notes in a simple chat interface | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: InstaNote – notes in a simple chat interface

instanote.io

89 pointsaj250 comments

I made this for myself since all the notes apps were overly complex and didn’t support the important things I wanted - e.g, treating URLs as first class citizens, custom reminders, or easy sharing.

I’ve heard from others that they have similar needs too, and complexity and overhead of note taking apps is one reason they don’t use them much.

Just a heads up: on the search screen, there's a segmented control to filter results. On my iPhone 11 running iOS 13, it looks very out of place. It also doesn't look like the screenshots on the App Store.

Since many are asking:

- notes are saved in the cloud

- currently requires Google login (but that was only because I wanted to get something out the door quickly). I'm considering implementing other login providers and also device-only notes if there is enough interest. I know there are legitimate concerns around this topic: I'm not tied to the login mechanism per se.

Is there a function to export notes from the cloud? Much prefer local backup options.

Not yet, but that's on my list of things to do.

I use "Saved Messages" in Telegram for this purpose. Very handy because you can forward messages from other users or channels.

I've used Keybase for this myself, by sending myself messages.

I miss "Saved Messages" from Telegram in the Element (formerly Riot) chat app. In Element it is also possible to create a private room with access limited to only me but in Telegram it feels so natural to send text and links to myself (even in way, way older versions of the app).

I also use #tags there and everywhere in other chats, because telegram can quickly search and go to these locations. E.g. after discussing some site, address or credentials in some chat, I reply to the specific message with like "#password router office" right in the chat. And then in the chat list there is a magnifying glass button, where you just type # and then can choose out of any #tag you ever used (#password), and then it shows all locations where it was used, with a context (#password router office, #password wifi home, etc). That doesn't work for secret chats though, afaik, but maybe it is a feature.

Tagging is different from forwarding in obvious ways (one can delete chats, modify messages, etc), but sometimes it is even more convenient than clumping up your Saved Messages. Tags may be used there as well, obviously.

There is another method, somewhat abusive to telegram, but it doesn't seem to care. For a specific topic, you can easily create a bot with a unique name and just chat with them. It is okay if bot doesn't actually have a backend and doesn't read your messages. Also bot API is so easy to use, so that if you're a developer and have a personal vps or "underbed server", you can connect yourself to a database of any flavor you could imagine. Telegram really shines here, and an entire $subj functionality may be implemented as such bot (which maybe is a great opportunity to promote and integrate your app further, $author).

Rather than creating bots, you can also create private channels (of which you are the only member) for each topic and send/fwd stuff there. Essentially having multiple "Saved messages" with different names. If you don't want to see them on your chatlist you can drop them all in a folder too.

Ah, nice. I didn't try to create a channel before and didn't know that I can be the sole subscriber. Thanks for the cue!

Surprised Apple let you publish this with only the option to sign in with a google account and not let you use any functionality until you do. I would also prefer to not sync yet more stuff with Google. Otherwise, seems pretty handy, I'll check it out.

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like google login is an area of concern for many. I'm considering other login providers too, would love to know what you prefer (device-only notes, or synced with a separate account or a different provider).

Quick Update: new versions now support email login and Apple sign in (iOS) too.

This looks like whatsapp - and in whatsapp you can do a chat to yourself

People sending themselves emails or whatsapp messages was certainly one motivation for the interface. I personally also wanted a) reminders associated with notes, and b) simple lists so I don't have to use separate apps for different types of notes.

In case anyone isn't aware, the trick is to create a group with any contact and then remove them. Mine is pinned to the top and named Notes - and unfortunately is the most robust way to share images and notes from desktop to Android (I tried Pusbullet and Join too)

You can try Alt-c for text and it works good, but for images I also found whatsapp as the quickest way

Never thought about this but man is it a slick solution. Installation on Windows was super easy too. Thank you!

Another option that’s cleaner imo is to literally start a chat with yourself as OP mentioned. Simply navigate to this URL on your phone https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=$1

Replace $1 with your phone number including country code but without a + sign.

I'm using "Saved Messages" in Telegram and it does most of that stuff.

I store text, files, links, videos and I even use it to send this from my PC to my phone or vice versa.

I also have several channels with bots like grocery list, reminders, etc. And I can make my own bots that connect to almost any service I want. I started using Telegram as an alternative to Whatsapp and now I'm using it even as my own personal "Jarvis". I still haven't developed all the stuff I want to a fully functional personal manager but the possibilities are endless.

This app looks cool. Simple and straightforward, which is something I always look up to but in this scenario I think we (at least I) need something more, to be able to make it talk to other services.

Feels weird. I often send a message to myself using Facebook Messenger in order to take a quick note. I do this because I can easily access it on any device and I generally have the Messenger opened in the background. I'm not sure if I want to have filtering and searching in a chat style note taking app. I don't care for organization of those quick, ad-hoc notes with short lifespan. If I want something persisted, I'll probably use a more dedicated, organized place.

Interesting to see I’m not the only one who does this on messenger. It’s such a good way to store information.

I like the idea. Seems like a good way to outline blog posts and whatnot. A few requests: allow for images and other attachments, include a dark mode, and charge something so it's sustainable and worth maintaining and improving.

Thanks for the feedback! Images and other attachments are supported already.

Dark mode is on my list of things to do. Charging is too :) I wanted to make sure it is useful for folks so I can dedicate time to development and make it sustainable by charging.

Solid idea, even better execution. Impressed you did apps on both major platforms

Only think it needs to replace me sending to slack or other note app is some way to get it on my computer. Maybe that’s an ifttt connector or something.

Thanks for the feedback. Considering having something in the browser for use on desktop & laptops too. Would that work for you?

Yep perfect

This reminds me of google keep.

I use this in WhatsApp: Created a new group chat with a friend, then kicked her out - now I'm having an empty chat just for myself.

Telegram has this built-in. The chat list contains an entry called "Saved Messages" that is basically a one-to-one chat with yourself.

I pin the chat to the top for quick access, but one downside is the notes aren't fully accessible offline.

I did similar. It is good for cross platform since I use whatsapp on windows too. Funny how people come up with similar things.

If you add your own phone number to contacts, you can also just start one-to-one with yourself from there

It just looks like WhatsApp – why not use that instead?

For those who miss the "Saved Messages" thing from Telegram: You make a group and kick out everybody. Then you are in a group – alone. Now stick it to the top of WA and voilá! There you have your simple notes :)

Great thing, since you can access it with your PC via web.whatsapp.com.

This is exactly what I have been looking for, few questions

- why does it need login? - what does it do with my data? - does the data live on phone or on your servers? - is it possible to export all the data somewhere?

Thank you. Requires login since data is backed up on the server. Export is a good idea and something I've been planning to add - perhaps Google Drive or a simple file to download.

Dammit, I have been playing for two months with mockups and dirty quick PoC for something like that an now someone actually made it.

Congrats to the author, now off to check it out :).

Very cool! I have started to build something a little similar but this looks pretty polished! Do you have any API? I would love to pull some of the data out

I like this idea and m certainly going to try it out for a while. What is the IAP for?

Looks neat. Where are the notes stored, locally on the device or in the cloud?

They are stored in the cloud, mainly so everything isn't lost with the device.

very cool idea!

edit: you can only use the app if you sign in via Google. Uninstalled.

I wanted login to be able to backup notes to the cloud. Would you want something to keep data just on the phone, or login with a different provider? That is to say: I'm considering other login providers and also just local on-device notes if there is enough interest.

Thanks for the feedback and definitely interested in understanding your requirements better.

yes please have option to store data locally by default on the phone or for iPhone have option store in iCloud.

thank you!

Also love the idea, and required Google sign-in is a dealbreaker for me too. I’d love it I could save notes in iCloud, but I’d be fine just keeping them local if you don’t want to maintain multiple login/sync providers.

I’d also pay a few bucks for this app, FWIW!

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated! Planning to take a stab at this soon.

Yes, I will pay few bucks too for, local only storage and optional login.

Quick update: new versions now support email login and Apple sign in (iOS) too.

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