Evernote used to be the king of note-taking, but what happened?

Evernote was one of the best note-taking apps from 2011 to 2017. According to TAdviser, the number of users skyrocketed to over 150 million in 2015 and peaked in 2017. However, this growth started to slow down in the following years. So, what happened to Evernote?

 

Device synchronization limits

The first major move to upset Evernote users came in June 2016, when the company limited its free plan from unlimited device syncing to just two devices. After this change, many users abandoned the app, while others decided to upgrade to the paid version.

Users do not trust privacy policies

Evernote was one of the first note-taking apps to adopt machine learning. The idea was to feed user data into machine learning algorithms to improve speech-to-text translation, contextual search within notes, and other related features.

But it didn't stop there: in December 2016, Evernote rolled out a new privacy policy that allowed some employees to read users' notes. The company said this was to "ensure everything works exactly as expected," and users had the option to encrypt their personal notes to prevent eavesdropping.

 

This has caused many people to abandon Evernote, even though the brand has changed its privacy policy.

Evernote v10 update has many issues

Version 10 is a major update for Evernote. The update includes a complete rewrite of the app on Electron to unify the experience across all platforms. While users can continue to use the older version of the app for the next few years, they will eventually have to transition to the new version in early 2023.

First, the new sync method requires users to be on the latest version.

Second, releasing a new sync method meant they had to maintain two versions of their backend server, one for the old version and one for the latest version. This was both inefficient and expensive. This forced behavior further damaged Evernote's reputation.

User experience is getting worse and worse

Forcing users to move to v10 wouldn't be a big deal if the update was complete and stable, but it's been plagued with issues, leading to significant user frustration.

 

This version was released with fewer features than the previous versions. Similarly, stability and performance issues also took a significant hit. Users often expressed frustration over random bugs and unresolved issues even after the update.

While Evernote has addressed some of the issues in subsequent updates, many remain and recur in newer updates through 2024.

Increased competition and lack of innovation

In recent years, the number of note-taking apps has increased with modern interfaces and feature sets.

Even though Evernote set out to achieve the same thing with its v10 update, it fell short. The new update lacks any features to attract new users and keep existing users using the app.

Change and instability in personnel

Frequent turnover of key personnel leads to a volatile development strategy, paralyzing decision-making and hindering innovation. Not to mention, this lack of vision also sows uncertainty in the minds of users and eventually leads to churn.

Limited features and over-commercialization

By the end of 2023, Evernote had significantly reduced the price of its free plan, limiting users to one notebook and 50 notes. The worst part? Trashed notes also counted toward the 50-note limit. The following year, Evernote further restricted its free plan, allowing only one device to be connected at a time. Evernote also increased the price of its paid plans.

This causes many users to switch to competitors who offer more value and fewer restrictions.

According to Electro IQ, Evernote's annual downloads have plummeted from 9.6 million in 2017 to just 1.7 million in 2023.