Muse 2.0 sync opt-in FAQ

Version 2 of Muse (released May 2022) includes the ability to sync your data to other devices via an internet service.

If you’ve started using Muse at or after the release of Muse 2.0, you don’t need to do anything: sync is enabled automatically, and any subsequent device you log in to will sync content with all your other devices.

This FAQ is for users of Muse 1.9 and earlier on iPad, who can manually opt in to syncing.

What happens after my iPad automatically updates to Muse 2.0?

When you run 2.0 for the first time, you’ll see a housekeeping screen with a progress bar as Muse updates its local database to the new format. You don’t need internet for this and it should complete in 20 seconds – 3 minutes depending on the size of your Muse data.

After that, you’ll go to your home board. A notification will give you the chance to enable sync, or you can dismiss it and continue to work normally. You can always access the opt-in panel again from Settings.

What are the benefits of enabling sync?

1. You can download Muse for Mac and log in to sync data with your iPad.
2. You can log in on another iPad and sync data between the two.
3. The Muse sync service will have a complete backup of your data, useful in case of losing all your devices.

What are the downsides of enabling sync?

The Muse sync service has the usual caveat of uploading your data to any internet service: there’s small but non-zero risk that the data could be viewed by unscrupulous actors or government wiretaps.

What happens when I enable sync?

You can continue to use Muse normally, but you’ll see that your data is uploading in the sync detail view, visible by tapping the circle in the lower right corner.

If you lock your iPad, switch away from Muse, or disconnect from the internet your upload will pause. It will resume again the next time Muse is active and you are online.

Where is my data stored?

All your data continues to be stored locally on your iPad, and is fully available for offline use.

The copy of the data which is uploaded is stored in the Muse sync service, maintained by our team here at Muse Software. We use Heroku and AWS S3 as subprocessors.

Is my data encrypted?

Your data is encrypted when it is on your iPad (part of the standard iPadOS device encryption) and when in transit to the Muse sync service (standard TLS).

It is not encrypted when at rest in the Muse sync service. It could hypothetically be read by Muse team members, but it’s our company policy not to inspect user content unless specifically requested by the user that owns the content.

We’ve architected our storage and networking layers to allow for end-to-end encryption in the similar style as Signal. But this is not implemented now; we’ll prioritize it based on customer demand, so let us know if this is a wishlist or must-have item for you.

What happens if I’m working offline for a long time?

You can work offline as long as you want. Muse will queue up edits to be sent to the sync service whenever you reconnect to the internet.

If you have two devices and you’re making edits on both of them while one or both are offline, they won’t be able to share changes and the contents will start to diverge. Muse will merge everything back together again when you reconnect.

I never used Muse 1. Can I opt out of syncing in Muse 2?

No. Sync is a fundamental part of Muse 2 so we feel that it doesn’t make sense to make it optional for new users.

Muse 1 users are an exception because they began using the app with the understanding that data was local-only. Hence, sync is opt-in for them.

If I opt in to syncing, can I opt out again later?

No, it’s a one-way operation.

I was part of the 2.0 beta…

Because the Muse sync service is used by both the 2.0 TestFlight beta and the 2.0 App Store release, it will try to merge the data from both places together.

What this means is that, after enabling sync, Muse will also download whatever data you had in the beta. Your beta home board will become your home board, and your home board from Muse 1 will be placed in the inbox. Then you can manually merge the contents together in whatever arrangement you want.

I have two (or more) iPads with Muse 1…

The data from the first iPad you enable sync on will become your home board.

Any subsequent iPads you enable sync on will place their home boards into the inbox, and then you can manually merge the contents together in whatever arrangement you want.

I logged in to Muse for Mac before enabling sync on my iPad…

If you log in to Muse for Mac before enabling sync on your Muse 1.x → 2.0 upgraded iPad, you’ll get a home board with standard onboarding content.

Then when you enable sync on your iPad, the home board from Muse on your iPad will be placed in your inbox.

I want to delete my account including all the data it contains

We’re planning to automate this, but in the meantime you can contact us from the email address associated with your Muse account.