Backsight is a private, on-device notebook that turns voice or text notes into quantitative stats over time, offering an offline dashboard for pattern discovery without judgment. You're bad at statistics about yourself — everyone is. Backsight is a mirror that shows what's in your notes, never a coach that tells you what to do.
What is Backsight?
Backsight is a private notebook for self-tracking that converts brief notes — spoken or typed — into an offline dashboard of trends. It transcribes audio locally on your device (recordings never leave it), then surfaces repetition, distribution, spikes, changes, and correlations over time. It runs as a web app with planned Android and iOS support, created by an independent developer (no company name given on the page).
Key Features
- On-device transcription — Voice notes are transcribed without sending audio to the cloud; recordings are deleted immediately after transcription, and the feature works offline.
- Offline dashboard — A local interface shows weekly balance (positive vs. negative records), theme distribution (e.g., work, sleep, family), and topic-valence correlations, all with sample size indicators.
- End-to-end encrypted sync — Notes synced between your own devices are encrypted with keys only you hold; the service never sees plaintext.
- Accountless login — No account needed; your cryptographic keys serve as your identity.
- Unlimited export — Export raw CSV or JSON at any time, free and without paywalls.
- No dark patterns — No streaks, guilt, or reminders; nudges are off by default.
- Local MCP server (planned, paid) — Allows any local agent (Claude, local LLM) to query your notes on your machine; the service never sees the data.
Who is it for?
- Self-trackers who want to quantify personal patterns (mood, energy, habits) without manually reviewing every entry.
