Where does your data live?
The short answer: on your computer. inkGuide is not a web service; it is a program that runs on your own machine. Your book is never uploaded to a server, because there is no server. No account to open; we don't even know your e-mail address.
Your book's life on disk
Everything sits in plain files you can open and inspect at any moment. No private database, no encrypted lock, no closed format.
no internet required
data/book.jsonone readable file
book.docx — opens in Word
book.md — plain-text backup
versions/ — snapshots
An automatic backup on every save; a time-stamped file on every export. All on your disk, all yours.
Your data is never held hostage
Some apps lock your text into their own format, their own cloud; when you want to leave, you wrestle with export screens. inkGuide's principle is the opposite:
Open formats
JSON, Markdown and Word. All three open on any computer, with or without inkGuide. Delete the app tomorrow and your book stays readable.
No account, no password
There is no sign-up screen because there is no server to sign up to. We don't know you, we don't track you; the site uses no analytics cookies either.
Backups upon backups
A .bak file and a Word safety copy on every save; optional snapshots let you return to any moment you like. Nothing quietly disappears.
Take everything, any time
Export is not a "premium feature"; it is the heart of the app. The complete book — cover, table of contents and bibliography — is always one click away.
The one exception: voice capture (dictation)
The voice note feature uses your browser's (Chrome or Edge) built-in speech recognition service. While it runs, your voice is sent to the browser vendor's server to be turned into text — that is the browser's infrastructure, not ours, and inkGuide never accesses or stores that audio.
This is the single exception to our local-first promise, and it is entirely optional: if you never touch the microphone, no data leaves your computer. In the long run we are evaluating a speech model that runs fully on your device.
Three frequent questions
Is my draft sent to you?
No. Nothing you write — no text, note or source — is ever sent over the internet. The app saves to a small local server running on your computer, and that server is reachable only from your computer.
What if I want a cloud backup?
Simply place your data folder inside a sync folder such as Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox — being plain files, it syncs without a hitch. The choice is yours; inkGuide never connects to any cloud on your behalf.
If it's free, what's the catch?
There is none. inkGuide is a one-person labour of love; if it earns its keep you can buy us a coffee, and that's all. Your data is not the "product" in any model.