People have a habit of using messaging apps to send things to themselves. So much so that chat apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram have built-in features for bookmarking or note-taking. Developer Willem de Beijer has developed a new note-taking app for iOS called Qept with the “DM-to-yourself” phenomenon in mind.

The developer said that, while popular chat apps offer a self-texting option, Qept is better when it comes to the organization and editing part of note-taking. He said that the app also lets you make quick to-do lists so you can easily plan for groceries or daily tasks.

Just like any chat app, you can start typing and hit “send” to write a note or a thought. There is a handy checkmark sign above the textbox, so you can easily create a checklist or a to-do list. You can assign a “Topic” to a note for better organization, but it’s not necessary to do that.

All notes — with or without a topic — will show up in the home timeline. Users can also edit them even after sending a note to the timeline. De Beijer said that, in a future update, the app will allow users to hide or collapse notes from a topic. Additionally, users will be able to easily show/hide archived notes with a single tap.

Image Credits: Qept

In the next few weeks, the developer will roll out updates such as improved visual appearance and navigation, a filter for archived notes, the ability to add a reminder to a note, and the ability to add bullet points as a formatting option. De Beijer plans to release a Mac app this year and launch features such as note search, bulk edits, and support for rich links.

Users can download the app for free, but to add more than three topics, they have to pay $7.99 per month. The developer said he plans to add more pro features down the line, such as image and file support.

Functionality-wise, Qept is similar to Stashpad, which raised $1.8 million last year from Alex Solomon (CTO at PagerDuty), Will Larson (CTO at Calm), operators at Postman, Loom, and Webflow. However, Stashpad is focused more on developers and it limits free usage across the device to 50 notes. You can pay $10 a month or $96 a year to unlock unlimited note sync and pro features.

Qept is a better free option for users who have basic note-taking needs and rely a lot on checklists to get things done.