Import from Evernote

Export a notebook

1. Open Evernote on Mac or Windows. The web version and the phone apps cannot write .enex files.
2. Right-click the notebook in the sidebar and choose "Export notebook...".
3. Pick "ENEX format (.enex)" and leave every box under Export note attributes ticked: they carry your tags, dates, reminders, and web clip URLs.
4. Save the file. Evernote names it after the notebook, and that name becomes the folder on this end, so keep it.
5. Repeat for each notebook, then zip all the .enex files together and drop the zip in once.

Pick ENEX, not the HTML or PDF exports

The other three formats do not survive the trip. Both HTML exports bloat every note with a copy of the same stylesheet and lose the filename and the download link for every attachment that is not an image, and the PDF export fuses the notebook into one document with no note boundaries left. Drop one of those in by mistake and we will say so rather than import half a notebook.

Leave "Split file size by" switched off unless the notebook holds gigabytes of scans.

One notebook at a time

There is no whole-account export, and a stack cannot be exported as a unit. Hand-picking notes caps you at 100 per export, so right-clicking the notebook is both faster and the only way past that limit. Stacks are not written into the file either, so your folders arrive flat.

Free plans can export, with one catch: the free tier allows a single connected device and this needs the desktop app.

What comes across, and what does not

Tables, code blocks, highlights, underline, text color, and formulas all survive. Checklists become task lists, note reminders become a task at the top of the note, attachments and images are re-encrypted into your storage, web clips keep their source URL, and voice notes keep their transcript. Internal links become note-links, matched on the linked note's title, since Evernote exports no note ids.

Tasks do not come across: the export leaves a "Content not supported" placeholder where each task block was, with no titles, due dates, or completion states left to read. Encrypted blocks stay encrypted, so decrypt them in Evernote first. Custom fonts, text alignment, and nested tag hierarchy are dropped.

If the export fails partway

Evernote keeps your notes on its servers and pulls them down as it writes the export, so a large notebook can stop at 13%, then 40%, then finish. Run the same export again: each attempt caches more of it locally and gets further than the last.

Import into PrivacyNotes

1. Open PrivacyNotes and go to Settings > Import & Export.
2. Pick Evernote as the source.
3. Drop in the file you just exported (or click to browse) and start the import.
4. Imported notes arrive tagged with their source, so you can review or bulk-edit the whole batch afterwards.