DEV Community: Niklas Ekman

I built a note-taking app where I literally can't access your data

Niklas Ekman — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:45:30 +0000

Hey everyone! I wanted to share a side project I've been working on called Mindpad.

The backstory

I've been trying to move away from free note-taking apps because, let's be honest, if it's free you're probably the product. Your notes getting sold to advertisers or used to train AI models doesn't sit right with me. I wanted something I could actually trust with my private thoughts.

What it is

A simple note-taking app with actual end-to-end encryption using OpenPGP.js (battle-tested, open source, used by major privacy-focused companies). Your notes never leave your device unencrypted. Ever. Not "encrypted at rest" or "encrypted in transit" (well, that too), but rather your device encrypts them before they even sync.

The privacy setup

I've made a conscious effort to use only European companies throughout the stack (EU has some of the world's strongest privacy laws). Managed to pull it off for everything except one service but even then, all data stays hosted in EU servers.

The catch

If you lose your encryption key, you lose your notes. No exceptions. No password reset. No "contact support to recover." This is the trade-off for real privacy — I can't help you because I literally can't access your data.

The results

Currently, It works and I use it daily. The landing page and some UX bits need polish, but it's functional enough that I wanted to see if anyone else cares about this kind of thing. I built it for me, but figured I'd share it.

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially on the UX/privacy trade-offs.

https://www.mindpad.eu?utm_source=dev.to&utm_campaign=initial-commit

A Game About Typing The Alphabet

Niklas Ekman — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 18:31:47 +0000

I created a silly little game where you type the alphabet as quickly as possible. There's a leaderboard to earn bragging rights with your buddies.

Almost two decades ago I learned programming and the first software I ever created was a Windows CLI program where you type the alphabet as quickly as possible. Currently, I'm learning how to create games, and I found it only fitting that the first game I ever publicly publish is a remake of the software I created almost two decades ago.

I'd love for you to give it a try and let me know what you think. You'll find the game on many places, such as:

In the near future I'll release reverse and scramble mode.

How fast can you type?

Kill Team Sidekick - A tool for tracking points in your Kill Team game

Niklas Ekman — Thu, 08 May 2025 16:01:08 +0000

https://killteamsidekick.app

Has been way to long since I created a hobby/side project, so I decided to create a simple web app for tracking points in the board game Kill Team from Games Workshop. It's called Kill Team Sidekick.

It's a SPA PWA built in Svelte and TypeScript. It's compiled statically now but can be changed to have a back end, should I need it for future features. First time building in Svelte and I'm pleasantly surprised. Uses a Material UI as a base for the design. Hosted on AWS.

If you have any suggestions, comments or feedback then please share. I'm always open to hear what others think.

Very happy with the results. I'm in love with PWA's and, unpopular opinion, I (still) think it's the future of smart phone apps.