If you’ve been using Evernote for years and recently started seeing strange warnings, headlines about layoffs, or news about the company being sold — it makes sense to wonder if your notes are about to vanish. That fear is completely understandable.
So let’s get into what’s actually going on. This article covers whether Evernote is really shutting down, what the Bending Spoons acquisition means for you, why so many people think the company is dying, what happened with the 2024 app changes, and what you can do right now to protect your data.
Evernote Is Still Open — But It Looks Very Different Now
Let’s answer the big question first: Evernote is not shutting down. As of the latest available information, there are no credible reports of bankruptcy, closure, or any announcement that the service is ending.
The company was acquired by Bending Spoons, an Italian software company, with the deal closing in January 2023. A new CEO, Francesco Patarnello, stepped in at that time. The app is still being actively developed and updated.
That said, Evernote today looks very different from the app people fell in love with five or ten years ago. That gap — between what it was and what it is now — is what’s driving most of the confusion and concern.
How Evernote Got Into This Position
To understand why people keep asking “is Evernote dying?”, it helps to look at how the company got here.
Evernote started as a clean, focused note-taking tool. But over time, it tried to be everything — a task manager, a collaboration platform, a productivity hub. That ambition came at a cost. The app got slower, more cluttered, and harder to use.
By 2015, the warning signs were hard to ignore. The company laid off 18% of its workforce and closed several offices. Senior leadership churned repeatedly. The business model never quite clicked.
Meanwhile, competitors were quietly getting much better. Notion brought in a more flexible, modern approach to organizing information. Apple Notes added features that made it genuinely useful. Microsoft OneNote was already free for anyone with a Microsoft account.
Evernote’s reputation took hit after hit, and users started leaving. That slow slide in trust and relevance is what fuels the “collapse” narrative — even though the company never actually closed its doors.
What the Bending Spoons Acquisition Actually Changed
When Bending Spoons announced the acquisition in late 2022 and closed it in January 2023, many long-time Evernote users braced for the worst. And the transition didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Shortly after the deal closed, nearly all U.S. staff were reportedly laid off. Operations moved to Europe. Communication during this period was poor, which left users anxious and rumors running wild.
But here’s a useful way to think about it: when a bigger company buys a struggling app, they often clear house and rebuild from the ground up. That’s uncomfortable to watch — but it doesn’t automatically mean the product is going away.
Bending Spoons owns a portfolio of consumer apps. They bought Evernote as a business asset they believed had value — something worth developing, not discarding. Layoffs after an acquisition are common and painful, but they’re not the same thing as a shutdown.
The restructuring felt alarming, especially with so little communication. But “this company is restructuring” and “this company is closing” are two very different things.
The 2024 App Changes That Spooked a Lot of Users
If there was one moment that really set off the panic, it was March 26, 2024.
On that date, all versions of Evernote older than v10 stopped working on macOS, Windows, and Android. The iOS legacy version had already been cut off before that. Users still running older versions suddenly lost access — and many interpreted that as the app being turned off entirely.
It wasn’t. This was a platform consolidation — Evernote moving everyone onto a single modern codebase. Think of it like Microsoft ending support for Windows XP. The old version is gone, but the product itself is still very much alive.
There was also another change that frustrated users: v10 no longer supports local notebooks. If you had notes stored only on your device, you needed to upload them to the cloud before the cutoff. Evernote did provide guidance and backup instructions, but many users felt blindsided by this.
The combination of forced migration, removed features, and poor communication made it feel — to some users — like the company was quietly pulling the plug. It wasn’t. But the way it was handled left a lot of people feeling unsure about whether to trust the platform going forward.
Should You Be Worried About Your Notes?
Here’s the honest answer: you probably don’t need to panic, but you should absolutely take steps to protect your data — regardless of which note-taking tool you use.
The fact that Bending Spoons invested in rebuilding the app on a modern codebase suggests they’re thinking about the product’s future, not winding it down. There’s no public insolvency filing, no closure announcement, and no credible sign that Evernote is about to disappear tomorrow.
That said, Evernote does face real headwinds. Its user base has shrunk. Its reputation has taken years of damage. And strong competitors aren’t going anywhere.
So while there’s no reason to assume the worst, it’s smart to stay prepared.
Simple Steps to Protect Your Evernote Data
- Export your notes regularly. Evernote lets you export notebooks as ENEX files. Do this once a month and save the file somewhere safe — a cloud drive and an external hard drive.
- Make sure your notes are synced. If you were using local notebooks on the older version, those won’t carry over automatically. Check that everything is in your account and synced to the cloud.
- Try an alternative alongside Evernote. You don’t have to make a dramatic switch overnight. Apps like Notion, Apple Notes, or Microsoft OneNote are worth exploring at your own pace.
This kind of backup routine is good practice for any cloud service, not just Evernote. No platform is completely risk-free, and having a copy of your data somewhere else is just smart.
Is Evernote Still Worth Using?
This is where it gets personal. The answer really depends on what you need.
Evernote still offers a freemium model with paid tiers — Personal and Professional — for users who want more features. Pricing varies by region, but it’s not cheap compared to what you get from free alternatives like Apple Notes or OneNote.
If you’ve already moved to a different app and it’s working well, there’s probably no compelling reason to go back. But if you’re still using Evernote and it’s meeting your needs, there’s also no urgent reason to abandon it right now. The service is still running. Your notes are still there.
The more interesting question is whether Evernote can win back the users and trust it lost over the last decade. That’s genuinely uncertain. For a broader look at how businesses navigate exactly these kinds of turning points, The Business Sheet covers the stories behind companies in transition — what they get right and where they go wrong.
The Bigger Picture
Evernote’s story is a useful reminder of what happens when a company loses sight of what made it great in the first place. It started as a simple, reliable place to keep your notes. Then it chased growth in every direction and ended up weaker for it.
Whether Bending Spoons can turn things around is still an open question. But “struggling and changing” is not the same as “gone.” Evernote is still here. Whether it earns your trust back is something only time — and the quality of the product — will answer.
For now, keep using it if it works for you. Back up your data. And keep your options open. That’s not panic — that’s just good sense.
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