The reMarkable tablet has become a favorite among professionals who want the feel of handwriting with the convenience of digital organization. Its elegant design, e-ink screen, and cloud synchronization make it popular for note-taking and document reading. But for healthcare providers handling protected health information (PHI), an important question arises: Is reMarkable HIPAA compliant? This article examines reMarkable’s data practices, its limitations for clinical use, and why VaultBook offers a more secure, compliant, and privacy-focused alternative.
1. reMarkable Is Not HIPAA Compliant
As of 2025, reMarkable is not HIPAA compliant. The company does not advertise compliance, nor does it provide a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) — a mandatory contract required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) when a service provider handles PHI on behalf of a covered entity.
Without a BAA, any healthcare provider using reMarkable to write, store, or sync PHI is in direct violation of HIPAA regulations. Even if data is encrypted or password-protected, the absence of a formal compliance framework and administrative safeguards makes reMarkable unsuitable for regulated medical use.
2. Cloud Synchronization Creates Compliance Gaps
reMarkable devices sync notes through the reMarkable Cloud, which allows access from multiple devices and backups to company servers. While this is convenient for consumers, it introduces significant risks for healthcare professionals. PHI stored in the reMarkable Cloud is technically accessible to the vendor’s infrastructure, which violates HIPAA’s requirement for exclusive data control by the covered entity.
Even if encrypted, PHI stored on third-party servers without a signed BAA remains non-compliant. Healthcare professionals cannot legally rely on cloud storage systems that do not formally meet HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules.
3. Local Storage Isn’t Enough Without Administrative Safeguards
reMarkable allows users to store notes locally on the tablet, but that alone does not ensure HIPAA compliance. HIPAA requires comprehensive administrative, physical, and technical safeguards, including encryption at rest, access control, audit logs, and breach-notification procedures. reMarkable tablets lack the necessary audit capabilities and enterprise-grade access management tools to demonstrate compliance.
Even with local storage, if a tablet is lost, stolen, or synced with an unsecured device, PHI could still be exposed. HIPAA compliance requires more than device security — it demands documented processes and verifiable audit trails, neither of which reMarkable currently supports.
4. Export and Sharing Risks
reMarkable allows users to export documents as PDFs or images via email or integrated cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox. While these sharing options make collaboration easy, they pose significant risks when used for PHI. Unless every integrated service is covered under a BAA (and configured securely), exporting notes containing patient identifiers violates HIPAA’s data-transmission rules.
Sending clinical notes or patient information through reMarkable’s cloud export or email system, even unintentionally, could trigger a reportable HIPAA breach.
5. No Multi-User Management or Audit Logging
reMarkable tablets are designed for individual users. There are no built-in multi-user controls, audit logs, or access monitoring — features that HIPAA requires to verify who accessed PHI, when, and for what purpose. In professional healthcare settings, this lack of accountability alone makes reMarkable non-compliant.
While this may not matter for personal productivity, it is critical for therapists, clinicians, and administrators handling confidential patient data. Without role-based access or audit tracking, compliance cannot be demonstrated or enforced.
6. Data Ownership and Vendor Dependency
Because reMarkable relies on proprietary cloud infrastructure, users must trust the company to maintain data security, availability, and retention. PHI stored in such systems is subject to the vendor’s internal policies and may cross regional data centers. HIPAA requires that healthcare entities maintain complete control and oversight of PHI — something that’s not possible with closed, vendor-managed ecosystems.
If the reMarkable Cloud ever experiences downtime, policy changes, or data migration, users may lose access or control over their sensitive notes — an unacceptable risk under HIPAA.
7. VaultBook: The Secure, Offline Alternative
Unlike cloud-dependent devices such as reMarkable, VaultBook offers a completely offline, self-contained solution for storing sensitive professional notes. It runs locally on your device and stores all information within your chosen folders — for example, attachments/, index/, and versions/ — secured with full encryption.
Because VaultBook never connects to the internet, no PHI ever leaves your local environment. There are no vendor logins, no servers, and no third-party integrations. Every note, attachment, and version history is encrypted with a master password and can be unlocked only during active sessions. This architecture makes VaultBook not just compliant — but breach-proof by design.
8. Control, Retention, and Compliance Simplicity
VaultBook gives you total control over your compliance policies. You decide how long versions are retained, when to prune older notes, and how attachments are stored or deleted. Version histories are stored locally, and all PHI remains under your physical control at all times. There are no recurring subscriptions, cloud dependencies, or data retention obligations managed by a third party.
This level of autonomy allows therapists, clinicians, and healthcare professionals to achieve HIPAA-grade security without cloud exposure — something reMarkable cannot offer due to its always-online synchronization model.
9. Cost, Ownership, and Lifetime Value
reMarkable tablets require both hardware purchases and optional cloud subscription plans (reMarkable Connect) for syncing and file access. VaultBook, in contrast, is a one-time purchase that grants lifetime ownership. Your data remains local, independent, and usable indefinitely — with no reliance on vendor servers or ongoing subscription costs.
10. Verdict: VaultBook Wins on Privacy, Control, and Compliance
While reMarkable is an elegant device for handwriting and productivity, it is not HIPAA compliant and poses serious risks for healthcare professionals handling PHI. The lack of a BAA, reliance on cloud synchronization, and absence of enterprise-grade access controls make it unsuitable for clinical documentation.
VaultBook wins as the secure, compliant alternative. It ensures total privacy through local-only data storage, strong encryption, and complete user control — without the risks, dependencies, or costs of cloud-based tools. In 2025, as privacy laws tighten and data breaches rise, VaultBook stands alone as the safest, most compliant digital system for professionals managing sensitive healthcare information.
If compliance, security, and data ownership truly matter, skip the cloud — and choose VaultBook.