Reflect, read again
Written 11 June 2026 · revised 15 October 2026
When we first wrote about Reflect, it was a paid, end-to-end encrypted notes app with backlinks and AI that tied notes to your meetings, and we argued it should speak to privacy-minded people who live in meetings. In July 2026 Reflect launched Reflect Open, a separate, local-first, open-source app built on plain Markdown files, and the home page now leads with it. The original Reflect remains available and maintained. This is a read of the public pages, not a measurement.
What Reflect offers now
The home page reads 'Think better with Reflect' and describes an open-source note-taking app with daily notes, backlinks and local Markdown files. Notes live in a folder you choose and sync through iCloud Drive or Git.
AI is optional and uses your own API key, with requests going straight to your provider. The Mac app is free and its code is under the MIT licence. The iPhone app is in a limited TestFlight; Reflect says it expects to charge for it later.
What has changed since v1
Reflect's post on Reflect Open says it does not add its own end-to-end encryption layer; encryption depends on where you keep the files, such as iCloud. The home page no longer mentions tying notes to your meetings, and meeting notes appear only as one use of AI.
So the position the first read recommended, private notes for people in back-to-back meetings, is no longer what the home page sells.
The new position
Local Markdown files, backlinks and open code put Reflect Open on the same ground as other local-first note tools, where buyers expect a free app and own their files. That is a fair trade: it builds trust and removes the lock-in worry.
What is left to set it apart is speed of capture, daily notes as the centre of the app, and AI on your own key. Those are worth saying plainly, because the files and the open code alone are now shared by several tools.
Where the opportunity is
Our opinion: say who Reflect Open is for, not only what it is made of. A writer of daily notes who wants their files and AI under their own control is a person; 'local Markdown' is a feature.
Existing Reflect customers need one clear page on which app to use and what happens to their notes. Reflect's post already answers much of this; linking it from the home page would help.
Takeaways
- Reflect Open is a separate, free, open-source Mac app on local Markdown files; the original Reflect continues.
- End-to-end encryption is no longer Reflect's own claim; it depends on where the files are kept.
- Lead with who the app suits, not only with open code and Markdown.
- Give existing customers one clear page on which app to use.
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Facts checked on 15 October 2026.
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