Guide / Start here
Getting started with SempreNotes
Install, grant only what you need, and save your first memory in under a minute.
SempreNotes has no sign-up. The first time you open it, you are already at the home screen, ready to capture. This guide takes you from install to your first saved memory.
1. Install and open
Download SempreNotes from the App Store on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or later. Open it. There is no account creation step, no email prompt, and no onboarding paywall — the app is fully functional from the first launch.
2. Understand the home screen
The main view has two halves: capture paths (voice, photo, context) and the brain (where you ask questions and browse memories). On iPad, these sit side by side.
3. Save your first memory
- Tap the voice capture button.
- iOS will ask for microphone and speech recognition permission — this is requested only now, because you invoked the feature that needs it.
- Say something worth remembering and stop the recording.
- Review the transcript. Edit it if the recognizer misheard, or discard it entirely.
- Tap commit. The memory is now stored on your device.
4. Ask about it
Open the brain view and ask a question about what you just saved. SempreNotes retrieves the relevant memory and answers, citing it as the source. Everything in this loop — transcription, storage, retrieval, answering — happened on your device.
SempreNotes asks for a permission only at the moment you use the feature that needs it. Deny any of them and the rest of the app keeps working.
What you don’t need to do
- No account or email.
- No subscription — local capture and recall are free.
- No cloud setup. The cloud toggle exists, but it is off and stays off until you decide otherwise.