Notability backs down on subscriptions for existing users

Notability on iPad

The popular Notability note-taking app for iPad, iPhone, and Mac, has moved to a freemium version, with its key features now available only on subscription. However, when originally making the announcement, the company said that existing, paid users would have one year free before having to subscribe.

"Yesterday, we made a big announcement regarding our transition to a free app with an optional subscription," said the company in a new blog post. "We heard the disappointment from our existing customers, and we want to correct our course."

"Everyone who purchased Notability prior to our switch to subscription on November 1st, 2021 will have lifetime access to all existing features and any content previously purchased in the app," continued the company.

"We are a small company," it explained, "so we designed the original one-year access plan as a precautionary measure since we were not certain if we could support lifetime access. We sincerely apologize for putting our current users in this position."

The existing and previously paid-for features include iCloud syncing, and unlimited editing. The company now says that there may still be more to come for paid users as well as subscribers.

"Future features we develop may also be included, depending on their complexity and cost to maintain," it says.

Notability is now free in the App Store, and offers an in-app subscription of $11.99 per year.