Memos review: simple notes on a server you control

Memos is a free open-source note-taking app for collecting everyday thoughts in a timeline on a server you choose.¹ It suits people who want a simple journal, idea book or household notebook and are willing to manage its hosting. Its privacy appeal is control over where your notes live and who operates that storage.

Last checked October 28, 2026.

At a glance

What it is: A self-hosted notebook for short entries.

Works on: Desktop and mobile through the web app.⁸

Price: No subscription or paid tier; hosting may cost money.¹

Licence: MIT.²

Best for: Quick personal notes with deliberate control over sharing.

Official site: usememos.com

What Memos does and how it protects your privacy

You can write without first choosing a title or folder, then return to an entry through search, tags or its date.¹ That makes Memos a good match for the small things otherwise scattered between scraps of paper: a repair reminder, a meal idea or a paragraph from your day. Start with a few useful tags rather than designing an elaborate filing system.

Self-hosting means running the application on a computer or server under your control. The project says note text, attachments and metadata stay in the database and storage configured for your instance.³ Choose the operator as carefully as the app: ask who maintains the machine and who can restore its backups.

Key features in Memos

Markdown formatting adds lists, tables and task lists to notes.¹ Markdown uses simple punctuation to format text.
Search and filters find entries by text, tag, date or visibility.¹
Attachments keep photographs, audio, video and documents with a memo.¹
Spaces organize memos for collaboration with selected members.⁵
Calendar and Map views help revisit entries by date or recorded location.⁵
Export downloads your own memos and attachments as Markdown and JSON in a ZIP archive.¹

Memos pros and cons

Pros

A timeline suits quick capture without much organizing.
There is no required outside account.¹
The project develops Memos publicly with outside contributors.¹
The MIT licence permits using, copying and modifying the software.²

Cons

You must maintain the database, attachment backups and recovery configuration.⁴ Budget some time for that responsibility.
The official web app needs a network connection to your instance.⁸
Administrators can read private and Space-only memos.⁵
Imports from other note apps are not supported by the built-in importer.¹

Is Memos safe and private?

According to its privacy policy, Memos does not report feature usage, behavior or device profiles to the project.³ There is no Memos-operated hosted account service for your notes.³ If a friend or hosting company offers an instance, read that operator’s terms before adding personal material.

The 0.31 release notes explicitly allow active instance administrators to read and manage individual private memos.⁵ Private visibility therefore does not provide end-to-end secrecy from the server administrator. End-to-end encryption means only the intended devices can read the content. Choose Memos when trusting the server operator fits your needs.

The security guide recommends HTTPS, disabling unwanted registration and disabling public memo visibility when it is unnecessary.⁴ HTTPS encrypts the connection between browser and server. Treat connection protection, access settings and backup protection as separate jobs; a private visibility label should never be your entire privacy plan.

Independent researchers at usd HeroLab reported a registration access-control flaw affecting version 0.25.2 and mark the vendor’s status as fixed.⁷ Their timeline records version 0.25.3 being released on November 25, 2025.⁷ This is a specific vulnerability report, not a certification that the whole application is secure.

The latest stable release is 0.31.0, dated September 19, 2026; the newer 26.10.0-rc.2 is marked as a prerelease dated October 27.⁵ A release candidate is a preview for finding problems before a final release. For an everyday notebook, choose the stable channel and read upgrade notes before updating.

How to get started with Memos

Choose a host. Decide who will handle updates and backups before moving important notes. Start with harmless sample entries while learning the settings.
Follow the official installation instructions. The getting-started guide uses Docker and the neosmemo/memos:stable image with a persistent data directory.⁶ Docker is a way to run packaged applications.
Create your account. For the Docker setup, open http://localhost:5230 on the host and create the first account, which becomes the administrator.⁶ Use a strong, unique password.
Set your audience. Choose private instance access and decide whether registration and public memos should be enabled.⁶ Keep sharing off while learning.
Write a trial memo. Check its Space and visibility, add a tag such as #home, then save a short note.⁶ Find it again before importing more material.
Plan recovery. Back up the database and any separately stored attachments, together with the configuration needed to recreate the instance.⁴ Keep a separate copy and practice restoring it.

Who should use Memos, and who might prefer something else?

Memos is worth choosing when your main problem is capturing small thoughts and you are comfortable taking responsibility for hosting. Try a week of ordinary notes first. Notice whether you enjoy returning through dates and tags, and whether maintaining the service feels reasonable.

If the server operator must never be able to read your notebook, compare Notesnook before deciding. For a different approach to organizing a growing notebook, also explore Trilium Notes. Make the choice around your privacy needs and writing habits.

Frequently asked questions

Is Memos free?

Yes: Memos has no subscription, seat charge or paid feature tier, although running your server may cost money.¹ Include storage and maintenance in your budget.

Does Memos work on iPhone and Android?

The official web app provides home-screen icons for Android and iOS and can be installed through supported browsers.⁸ It is served from your instance rather than an app-store listing.⁸

Can I use Memos offline?

The official web app needs a connection to your instance.⁸ Plan around that requirement if you often write while travelling or away from your home network.

Are Memos notes private by default?

New memos default to PRIVATE, although you can change the default or select a different audience in the editor.⁶ Instance administrators can still read private memos.⁵ Keep that distinction in mind on shared servers.