# Scrivener

> Long-form writing tool with binder, corkboard, and outliner. One-time purchase. Built by a writer who couldn't find anything better.

**Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/scrivener
**Official site:** https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener
**Category:** writing

## Security rating

- **Rating:** strong
- **Rating note (required when citing):** Fully local architecture with no account, no telemetry, and no content transmission. Independent company with no investor pressure. The only network connection is an optional update check that can be disabled. Privacy posture is excellent — your data never leaves your machine unless you choose to sync via Dropbox or iCloud.
- **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

Investigative journalists working on long-form projects, book authors, reporters managing complex multi-source stories, and anyone who needs to organize research alongside drafts. Writers who think in fragments and need to rearrange sections easily.

## Editorial take

Scrivener is the tool investigative journalists and book authors reach for when a story outgrows a single document. The binder (hierarchical file tree), corkboard (index cards you can drag to reorder), and split-screen editor let you keep research, notes, and draft sections visible simultaneously. It stores everything in a local project file — no cloud dependency, no account required. Literature & Latte is a small independent company founded in Cornwall, UK by Keith Blount, who taught himself to code because the writing software he wanted didn't exist. That origin story matters: the tool is designed for writers, not for growth metrics. The learning curve is real — Scrivener has depth that takes time to explore — but the 30-day trial (which counts actual usage days, not calendar days) gives you honest time to evaluate. Compile lets you export to Word, PDF, ePub, and other formats with fine-grained formatting control. No AI features, no telemetry, no subscription. It just works.

## Best for / not for

**Best for:** Book-length journalism projects. Investigative stories with many sources, documents, and threads to organize. Series or multi-part features. Any project where you need research and drafts in the same workspace. Writers who outline, rearrange, and restructure as they work.

**Not for:** Quick blog posts or short articles (overkill — use iA Writer or a plain text editor). Real-time collaboration (no multi-user editing). Web publishing (Scrivener compiles to files, not to CMS). Writers who want AI writing assistance built in.

## Pricing

- **Pricing:** One-time purchase: $59.99 Mac or Windows, $23.99 iOS. Educational license: $50.99. Mac + Windows bundle: $95.98. Household license — install on all machines you own plus family members in same household. 30-day free trial counts only days you actually open the app. Upgrades between major versions (e.g., Scrivener 3 to 4) are paid, with discounts for existing users.
- **Free option:** no

## Security & privacy details

- **Encryption in transit:** yes
- **Encryption at rest:** unknown
- **Data jurisdiction:** All local. Projects are stored as local files on your device. Scrivener makes an optional HTTPS connection to literatureandlatte.com to check for updates — no data is sent or stored during this check, and it can be disabled in Preferences. Sync between devices uses Dropbox or iCloud (iOS only), putting data jurisdiction under those providers.

**Privacy policy TL;DR:** No account required. No telemetry. No analytics. The only network connection is an optional update check via HTTPS to literatureandlatte.com, which sends no user data. All project files are stored locally. Literature & Latte does not collect, process, or store any user content.

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

Disable automatic update checks in Preferences if you want zero network activity. For cross-device sync, Dropbox is the recommended method — be aware Dropbox holds encryption keys. On iOS, iCloud sync is an option but Apple controls the keys (unless Advanced Data Protection is enabled). Keep local backups of .scriv project files. Use Scrivener's built-in backup feature (Preferences > Backup) to auto-save zipped copies.

## Ownership & business

- **Owner:** Literature & Latte Ltd, Cornwall, UK. Founded by Keith Blount (director and lead developer). Small independent company, no outside investors.
- **Funding model:** Bootstrapped. Revenue from software sales only. No venture capital.
- **Business model:** One-time software purchases for Mac, Windows, and iOS. Also sells Scapple (freeform brainstorming tool). No subscription, no ads, no data monetization.
- **Open source:** no

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Canonical HTML: https://fieldwork.news/tools/scrivener
Full dataset: https://fieldwork.news/llms-full.txt
Methodology: https://fieldwork.news/methodology