Network Notes
Notes between Macs. Nothing in between.
Send a note, image, or link to anyone on your home or office network in seconds. No server. No internet connection. No account. Just two Macs that find each other automatically and talk directly — encrypted end-to-end.
Not yet available — join the waitlist for 10% off at launch.
The spiritual successor to Adium.
Adium's rubber duck sat in millions of Mac menu bars for over a decade — a simple, no-nonsense way to send a message to someone nearby. Then the protocols died and nothing replaced it for local network use.
Network Notes is that replacement. Two ducks this time, passing notes between each other. It sits quietly in your menu bar, finds other Macs running Network Notes on your network automatically, and gets out of the way.
Automatic. Zero configuration.
Network Notes uses Bonjour — the same technology that makes AirPrint and AirDrop just work — to find other Macs on your network. Launch the app on two Macs and they find each other within seconds. No IP addresses, no ports, no setup.
The duck appears in your menu bar. Network Notes starts advertising itself via Bonjour.
Other Macs running Network Notes show up in your list within seconds. No pairing needed.
Click a name, type your note, press ⌘Return. Delivered instantly, encrypted end-to-end.
Incoming messages open the history window automatically, even if it's buried behind other apps.
Notes, images, and links.
Type a note or paste a URL and it arrives as a clickable link on the other side. Drop an image onto the compose window or click the photo button to pick one from Finder. Images are compressed automatically and sent over the local connection — no cloud upload, no size limit imposed by a server.
Text notes
Plain text, passwords, addresses, reminders — anything you'd otherwise shout across the house.
Clickable links
URLs are automatically detected and rendered as clickable links in the history view.
Images
Drag an image into the compose window or use the photo picker. Tap any image in history to open it full-size.
Send to All
When multiple people are connected, one tap broadcasts your note to everyone on the network at once.
End-to-end encrypted. Nothing leaves your network.
Every message is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it leaves your Mac, using a key derived from a P-256 Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman handshake between the two machines. DataIsland has no server in the path — your messages travel directly from one Mac to the other and nowhere else.
Free to use. Free to share.
Network Notes is free — no catch, no trial period, no "pro" tier. You can share it with anyone: family members, housemates, colleagues, friends. Pass the app along directly, post it on your blog, or share the App Store link. The only condition is that the license document travels with it and nobody charges for it.
Direct downloads include a License.txt that makes this explicit.
It takes 30 seconds to read and covers everything you need to know about redistribution.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work without an internet connection?
Yes — Network Notes uses only your local network. As long as both Macs are on the same WiFi or wired network, it works with no internet connection at all.
How many people can use it at once?
There is no hard limit. Every Mac on your network running Network Notes appears in the peer list. You can message individuals or use Send to All to reach everyone at once.
Is it really free?
Yes, completely free with no in-app purchases and no subscription. Network Notes is a goodwill app from DataIsland — a genuinely useful tool we wanted to exist and decided to give away.
Are my messages private?
Yes. Messages are encrypted end-to-end using AES-256-GCM with keys derived via P-256 ECDH. They travel directly between your Macs with no DataIsland server involved. Keys are stored only in your macOS Keychain.
Does it run in the background?
Yes — Network Notes sits in your menu bar and can optionally open at login (you're asked on first launch). The history window opens automatically when a message arrives, even if it's behind other windows.
Can I share Network Notes with other people?
Yes — freely. You can share the app directly, post it on your blog, or send the App Store link to anyone. The only conditions are that the License.txt document travels with any direct copy of the app, and that nobody charges for it. DataIsland never will.
What about iMessage or AirDrop?
iMessage requires an internet connection and an Apple ID. AirDrop is for one-off file transfers. Network Notes is for quick back-and-forth notes and images on your local network — no Apple ID, no internet, persistent history.