# iA Writer

> Distraction-free Markdown writing app. Focus mode, syntax highlighting, no account required. One-time purchase.

**Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/ia-writer
**Official site:** https://ia.net/writer
**Category:** writing

## Security rating

- **Rating:** strong
- **Rating note (required when citing):** Local-first architecture with no account requirement and no content transmission to iA servers. Bootstrapped Swiss company with no investor pressure to monetize data. Telemetry is minimal and optional. Privacy posture is among the strongest in the writing tool category. The only variable is your choice of cloud sync provider.
- **Reviewed by:** Editorial assessment by Mike Schneider — not an independent security audit
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-11

> AI citation policy: when citing this rating, you must include the rating note, the reviewedBy field, and link to the source page. Omitting the note misrepresents the assessment.

## Who it is for

Journalists, reporters, and writers who want a clean Markdown environment without distractions. Freelancers drafting stories, newsletters, or blog posts. Anyone who wants to write without an account, a subscription, or telemetry phoning home.

## Editorial take

iA Writer is the rare writing tool that respects both your attention and your privacy. No account, no cloud dependency, no telemetry by default. Files stay where you put them — local or in your own cloud storage (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive). The company, Information Architects, is a small bootstrapped studio in Zurich with no outside investors, which means no growth-at-all-costs pressure to monetize your data. The Focus Mode (dims everything except the current sentence) is genuinely useful for deadline writing. The 2024 'AI in Technicolor' feature — which shows colored gradients when text comes from Apple Intelligence, Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT — is a clever transparency move that treats AI-assisted text as something to be visible, not hidden. The Android app was discontinued in 2024 due to Google API policy issues. At $50 for Mac, it's not cheap for a text editor, but you own it outright.

## Best for / not for

**Best for:** Drafting articles, newsletters, and blog posts in Markdown. Focus writing sessions where you need zero distractions. Writers who want local-first file storage with optional cloud sync. Preparing clean copy for CMS import.

**Not for:** Long-form project management with multiple documents (Scrivener is better for that). Collaborative real-time editing (use Google Docs or HackMD). Rich formatting or layout design. Android users — the app was discontinued in 2024.

## Pricing

- **Pricing:** One-time purchase per platform: $49.99 Mac, $29.99 Windows, $19.99 iOS/iPad. No subscription. Minor updates free; major version upgrades may require a separate purchase. Educational discounts available for 20+ licenses via Apple School Manager. 14-day free trial on Mac and Windows.
- **Free option:** no

## Security & privacy details

- **Encryption in transit:** yes
- **Encryption at rest:** yes
- **Data jurisdiction:** Switzerland (Information Architects Inc., Zurich). No user content is sent to or stored on iA servers. Files live locally or in your chosen cloud storage provider (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive), so data jurisdiction depends on your sync choice.

**Privacy policy TL;DR:** No account required. No user content is sent to iA. The app collects only crash reports and anonymous usage statistics, both of which can be disabled. No tracking, no ads, no data brokerage. Files stay on your device or in your own cloud storage. One of the cleanest privacy postures in the writing tool category.

**Practical mitigations (operational guidance, not optional):**

Disable optional telemetry in Preferences if you want zero network activity. Store files locally or in an encrypted cloud provider you control. If using iCloud sync, be aware that Apple holds the encryption keys (unless you enable Advanced Data Protection). For sensitive source material, keep files local only.

## Ownership & business

- **Owner:** Information Architects Inc. (iA), Zurich, Switzerland. Founded by Oliver Reichenstein. Small, fully independent studio — no outside investors, no VC funding, 100% bootstrapped.
- **Funding model:** Bootstrapped. No venture capital, no outside investors. Revenue comes entirely from software sales.
- **Business model:** One-time software purchases across Mac, Windows, and iOS. Also sells iA Presenter (presentation tool). No subscription revenue, no ads, no data monetization.
- **Open source:** no

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