Why Anytype is the Future of Note-Taking

If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent hundreds of hours researching and testing different apps, searching for options that defy the norm by centering human good (i.e. security, safety, and functionality). You’re also probably very frustrated by two major problems inherent in the software world.Every piece of software these days has two inherent flaws.

1. It was made by tech bros.
2. It was made by engineers who love software engineering.

In the first place, we have apps that are made to fill a role in the venture capitalist model. They aren’t meant to be good products, they’re meant to be products good at generating value for shareholders. The two are utterly, starkly distinct.

In the second place (where much of the free and open-source software lives), we find programs designed by people who think that everyone should either learn five coding languages or go straight to hell.

I am always on the search for technology that lives within the delicate middle-ground. If someone can make a piece of tech that doesn’t become a piece of capitalist garbage, but also pushes for ease-of-use, it’s something that gets my attention. This, tangentially, is why I love the Supernote and hate the reMarkable.

What is Anytype?

Have you heard of Notion, Obsidian, or Evernote? These are all knowledge applications, like extremely advanced notepads.

Anytype is the secure, person-centered, ethical program that could redefine how we think about software use.

At their most basic, they can clip things from the Internet and record (and organize) your thoughts and ideas. Obsidian, Notion, and others like them, can go way farther. These apps can basically replace half the other apps you might use.

I use Obsidian daily, because it’s insanely powerful, the data stays local-first, and it’s free. I used to use Notion, but Notion's terrible security and privacy practices made me put it aside.

Obsidian is my place to build essays and let my ideas interact with one another. Notion was the place where I manage my household and my classes. I needed a new home for my life organization.

Enter: Anytype!

Anytype is the secure, person-centered, ethical program that could redefine how we think about software use.

Notion is an inherently insecure application. Not only do the keys to my knowledge sit in someone else’s hands, the app doesn’t even have basic two-step authentication to protect my account.

Zhanna Sharipova explains in the following video a little bit about what Anytype is and seeks to do. The TLDR is: it marries the idea of advanced tech features with ease of use (something so many more designers should consider).

Anytype is setting itself up to be more than just a note-taking or messaging application. Its goal is a new platform for a distributed Internet, built using privacy-preserving peer-to-peer technologies. Within Anytype, you will be able to build web pages, collaborate on projects, and effectively replace the operations of separate “siloed” applications.

Notion is an inherently insecure application. Not only do the keys to my knowledge sit in someone else’s hands, the app doesn’t even have basic two-step authentication to protect my account. While Notion tries to leverage its new AI model, built on the back of data that is (effectively) stolen, Anytype offers a new integrated connectivity platform with the added benefit of privacy. Oh, and it will be permanently free for individual use.

Anytype features, now and later

Any information professional knows that finding the data you want requires a great structure. This principle is what Anytype is promising, by connecting every piece of information you put into the system. Then, through several overlapping methods, Anytype makes retrieving that information a breeze.

The essential idea is that each thing inside Anytype exists as a unique object, and each unique object has relationships to every other unique object. The more information you put in, the more connections become possible. Then, it’s just about retrieving those connections. It should become possible to think in a completely different way, harnessing the vast power of your own metadata to remember things differently and form unique new ideas.

I started using Anytype when it was still in an alpha stage, and their team has done an astounding job sticking ot their development roadmap. They continue to add vast swaths of functionality, making it one of the most impressive Web 3.0 initiatives around.

Major features, like inline sets, database-style views, and full formula and live equation abilities are all promised in the near future. Once it has those, it will equal everything that makes Notion special, but will offer even more.

I know that I won’t stop using Obsidian as my main knowledge tool for a long time (if ever) because it’s also always free and ensures that all my data is in a future-proof format. But, I dislike Notion’s ethical stance big time, and can’t wait to ditch it for something better.

Give it another year, and Anytype might just be the application that finally kicks Notion to the curb.

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