Why I keep my files local
I built software for myself because I wanted to own my data and be in control of my own files.
I don’t want my personal information, notes and plans sitting on someone else’s servers. I want to know where my data is, who has access to it, and how I can get to it.
Apps are incredibly convenient. But convenience often means handing your data to someone else. Once it’s on their servers, you have to trust them to keep it safe, and accept that they decide how it’s stored, accessed and used. Any company holding large amounts of personal information can also become a target for hackers.
I’d rather have a choice. I want to keep my information on my own computer, or choose exactly where it lives and how it’s used. That’s why I like software that works locally, with files I can actually open.
Why I care about my footprint
I care about minimising my digital footprint.
Technology is getting very good at connecting the data we leave behind. One piece of information on its own might not reveal much. But when data from different services, accounts and devices can be linked together, it can build a surprisingly detailed picture of who you are, what you do and how you live.
I don’t want to add more to that picture than I need to.
Moving to Obsidian was one of the first choices I made to live by that. A lot of the work I was doing for my startup was sensitive, and I didn’t want confidential interviews sitting in Notion, relying on another company to keep them protected.
Obsidian let me keep my notes as files on my own computer. I know where they are, I can open them directly, and I can organise them however I want. More importantly, I have far more control over where that information goes and who can see it. That’s when I began developing the Obsidian template for entrepreneurs.
From there I started paying attention to what I was handing to apps: where it was stored, who could access it, and whether it needed to leave my computer at all. When I needed a new system, or wanted to replace an app that asked for sensitive information, I built it myself.
The period tracker was a way to stay on top of my cycle without handing over my health data. Momentum, my habit tracker, was a way to design something flexible around the small daily habits I want to keep.
Whenever I hit a problem, I designed a tool to solve it, one that saved its data on my own computer. That became the approach behind everything I build: solve a real problem, make the tool adaptable, and keep the amount of personal information you have to hand over to a minimum.
Why North Method exists
North Method makes small, focused tools built around a simple idea:
Your data should stay yours. It shouldn’t expire because a company changes its product, pricing, file format or direction.
That includes pricing. There is another benefit to running software locally: it doesn’t need to be tied to an ongoing subscription. You can buy a tool and keep using it without continually paying for access to your own system.
I want to build software that gives you useful systems without requiring you to hand over your data or depend on someone else to look after it.
The short version:
- Choose where your data lives.
- Minimise your digital footprint.
- Customise it. Develop it further.
- Use software on your terms.
- Truly own your systems.
Yasmine