Add concept of User Groups + Sharing

[computrav]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
This is more of a theme, not a single small feature. The goal is to be able to share a folder of notes and/or specific notes with another person (friend, spouse etc). Perhaps this may be challenging with the encryption model, not sure.

Use case: Shared shopping list with spouse, packing list for a camping trip with friends

This is something that's possible with Google Keep... However in that model you have to share each "list" with another Google account then they can collaborate on it. I think by having a group model, you can define who's in a group and then provide note visibility to any combo of users (via email address?) and/or groups.

[rerefu]

Thanks Travis, user-to-user sharing is on the roadmap. The honest caveat is that zero-knowledge makes this materially harder than the Google Keep equivalent:

• No emails on the server. We don't store email addresses (no PII beyond username), so "share via email" needs a different invite mechanism, likely a one-time token exchanged out of band.

• Untrusted key exchange. To send something only B can read, A needs B's encryption key - and the server is the only place to fetch it. Since we don't trust the server, it could quietly hand A its own key instead of B's and sit invisibly in the middle: decrypting everything A sends, re-encrypting with B's real key, passing it along. Neither side would notice. So A and B have to verify each other's keys through a channel that doesn't go through the server - and that has to be in the UX from day one, not bolted on later.

• Revocation is harder than it looks. The intuitive solution "server drops B from the access list, done" is available to us (the server does see who (user_id) shares with whom, by deliberate trade-off), but it's not the security boundary. A compromised or malicious server could keep handing B the ciphertext, and B still holds the old key, so they'd decrypt fine. Real revocation has to be cryptographic: rotate the resource key, re-encrypt for everyone who stays.

The first cut is likely a single task or a single note, not folders or groups. Folder sharing has a privacy footgun (any new note dropped into a shared folder silently leaks to everyone). Groups..., maybe later, once the core protocol is settled.

[computrav]

Great points, all valid. I suspected this may have some complications. At least sharing something as snapshot with a unique (revokable) link would be great. It wouldn't provide the ability to collaborate, but at least it could be shared. I guess in that model, an id/guid itself would be the private key of sorts... So the note copy would still be encrypted on the server. This is what is requested in #149

[computrav]

I just had a other idea on this... Because I'd really love a solve to be able to have the ability to collaborate on notes with others. I'm really trying to get the wife off of Google Keep for our shared notes and quick task lists ;) Read only sharing is definitely useful but serves a diff purpose.

What if there were a way to share a unique "private key" with others? Perhaps this could be for an entire parent folder. The use case here is to share with one or more people... Eg, a spouse or family members. I'm not sure if this concept works within the bounds of how your encryption setup works. But anyhow, maybe you could have a concept of "Shared Folders", in which you could copy a "share key" and then someone else could add that folder to their account with the key, then allowing them to fully access any notes in that folder. As a bonus, if possible, notes could optionally exist in more than 1 folder. So they could be in my "Project" folder but also in my "Family Notes" folder. Only those that have added the folder via the share key would be able to access the notes.

Thoughts?

[rerefu]

Hi Travis, sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been working on a "shared notes" project for a while now, but security concerns (Zero Knowledge) make it a real challenge, and I won't be able to tackle it seriously until a few months from now (probably in the fall). What I'm currently designing is: sharing individual tasks in re/task and individual notes in re/notes (the atomic unit of content; TaskList and folder remain private organizational containers), while preserving zero knowledge on the server. https://github.com/fundacja-reborn/reapps/blob/main/docs/security/threat-model.md Now I want to improve the core functionality as much as possible (which your GitHub issues are very helpful in helping me with) and release native applications.

[rerefu]

Why I decided to share individual notes and tasks: Because accidentally moving or creating a note in a shared folder makes it more immediately accessible to users (but easier to make mistakes—and share things you didn't want to share). For now, re/notes will remain a small but clever tool.

[computrav]

Understood!! I think this is a great 'win win win'. You're getting a handy product manager/UX guy and it benefits the product, which benefits your foundation. I have a few more things I'll be submitting when I get a chance. This app is already amazing and has addressed so many shortcomings of other tools (and trust me, I've tried so many of them!)T

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On 7/1/2026, 6:44:48 AM, Michał Leski ***@***.***> wrote: rerefu left a comment (fundacja-reborn/reapps#148) Hi Travis, sorry it took me so long to reply. I've been working on the "shared notes" project for some time, but for security reasons (Zero Knowledge), it's a serious issue, and I won't be able to devote more time to it until a few months in the fall. What I'm currently designing is: sharing individual tasks in Reborn Task and individual notes in re/notes (the atomic unit of content; TaskList and folder remain private organizational containers), while preserving zero knowledge on the server. https://github.com/fundacja-reborn/reapps/blob/main/docs/security/threat-model.md Now I want to improve the core functionality as much as possible (which your GitHub issues are very helpful in helping me with) and release native applications. Regards, M. poniedziałek, 29 czerwca 2026 09:09, Travis Solin ***@***.***> napisał(a): > computrav left a comment [(fundacja-reborn/reapps#148)](#148 (comment)) > > I just had a other idea on this... Because I'd really love a solve to be able to have the ability to collaborate on notes with others. I'm really trying to get the wife off of Google Keep for our shared notes and quick task lists ;) Read only sharing is definitely useful but serves a diff purpose. > > What if there were a way to share a unique "private key" with others? Perhaps this could be for an entire parent folder. The use case here is to share with one or more people... Eg, a spouse or family members. I'm not sure if this concept works within the bounds of how your encryption setup works. But anyhow, maybe you could have a concept of "Shared Folders", in which you could copy a "share key" and then someone else could add that folder to their account with the key, then allowing them to fully access any notes in that folder. As a bonus, if possible, notes could optionally exist in more than 1 folder. So they could be in my "Project" folder but also in my "Family Notes" folder. Only those that have added the folder via the share key would be able to access the notes. > > Thoughts? > > — > Reply to this email directly, [view it on GitHub](#148?email_source=notifications&email_token=BBEOSLTKJ2XSAW62NLBGQEL5CIIY3A5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIOBSHE4DMNBSGU3KM4TFMFZW63VHMNXW23LFNZ2KKZLWMVXHJLDGN5XXIZLSL5RWY2LDNM#issuecomment-4829864256), or [unsubscribe](https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BBEOSLS5X4675T565JMLXQL5CIIY3AVCNFSNUABGKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMYTEMBXHAZDEMBXGY5US43TOVSTWNBUGA4DSMJXGQZTJILWAI). > You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***> -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #148 (comment) You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Message ID: ***@***.***>

[rerefu]

Thanks!