Note-taking apps for psychologists: tablet, phone or computer, how to choose

A note-taking app for psychologists is the tool, on a tablet, phone or computer, where you write down what happens in session and keep track of each patient over time. The choice decides three things: where your notes go once written, what the patient sees during the session, and what happens the day the device is lost or stolen.

This article starts from the device and the app. For the criteria to choose note-taking software itself, see our guide to note-taking software for psychologists. The legal points below are French; we note the differences for Belgium and Switzerland.

Three questions before choosing a device

• Where do my notes go? Only on the device, into the manufacturer's cloud (iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive), or to the publisher of health software. This decides the HDS hosting question.
• What does the patient see? An open laptop puts a screen between you. A tablet lying flat, used with a stylus, is close to a notebook. A phone in your hand can look like you are checking messages.
• What happens if the device disappears? Anyone can read a lost notebook; an encrypted, locked tablet is far harder to read.

The five real options and what they imply

1. Paper, then typing up

You jot down a few words in session, then copy or summarise them into a file or software. A notebook is not encrypted and typing everything twice takes time. The main risk is loss.

2. iPad with a stylus (Goodnotes, Notability)

A stylus keeps the notebook gesture and adds search and filing by patient. It is often the best compromise for what the patient sees. The sensitive point is sync. According to its website, Goodnotes can sync notes through iCloud between Apple devices or through Goodnotes Cloud, which relies on third-party providers such as Amazon Web Services, and data may be transferred to servers outside the European Economic Area. The page mentions neither health data nor HDS certification. A handwritten note is also an image: it does not file itself into a structured patient record.

3. General-purpose note apps

Apple Notes, Google Keep or Docs, OneNote and Evernote are practical and on every device, but not designed for health data. According to its website, Apple encrypts iCloud notes and backups by default, but under standard protection Apple holds the keys; Advanced Data Protection, which you must turn on yourself, encrypts them end to end. Apple's website does not mention HDS certification. According to its website, Google's HDS certification covers Google Cloud and Google Workspace used by businesses, with contractual terms including an HDS addendum; personal Google accounts are not mentioned, and externalised backup is outside the scope of that certification.

4. Practice management software

Practice management software for psychologists often includes a patient file with a notes field, next to scheduling and billing. In France, whoever hosts the data for the publisher must be HDS-certified. Input is mostly by keyboard, on a computer, which raises the question of the screen in session. We compared these tools in our article on psychologist practice software.

5. The AI clinical assistant

A clinical assistant transcribes what is said during the session, with the patient's agreement, or works from your dictation after the session, then drafts the report and updates the patient file. The device can stay put. The points to check are hosting, pseudonymisation before the AI and what happens to the audio. See AI note-taking in therapy sessions.

Decision grid: tablet, phone or computer

• Tablet and stylus: what the patient sees close to a notebook; input handwriting, a few keywords; hosting depends on sync (iCloud and general-purpose app clouds not HDS according to their websites); loss limited if passcode and encryption are on; for whom: practitioners who write a lot by hand and want to keep that gesture.
• Phone: what the patient sees the most ambiguous (it looks like a message); input by thumb, slow; hosting same clouds as the tablet; loss frequent, the device leaves the office; for whom: backup use, quick dictation after the session, home visits.
• Laptop: what the patient sees an upright screen between you, most noticeable if you type; input keyboard, fast but noisy; hosting depends on the software; loss less frequent, disk encryption to turn on; for whom: practitioners who write after the session or use an assistant that transcribes, lid lowered.
• Paper, then computer: what the patient sees familiar; input twice; hosting depends on where you type up; loss of a notebook anyone can read; for whom: a transition, or patients bothered by screens.

If you combine two devices, keep the final record in one place, hosted properly.

Keyboard, stylus or dictation after the session

• The keyboard is fast, but it pulls your eyes to the screen. If you type in session, we recommend telling the patient.
• The stylus lets you note two or three words without taking your eyes off the patient.
• Dictation after the session keeps the session free of any device. You dictate your observations in the minutes that follow, while the session is still sharp in your memory. The risk is putting it off and losing the details.
• Transcription during the session by a clinical assistant spares you from writing, with the patient's agreement.

On patient forums, some describe their unease when their therapist pulls out a tablet to find their date of birth, or when a phone buzzes on the table. Read your notes before the session, not during it.

What French law says about hosting notes

Article L1111-8 of the French Public Health Code (in force since 1 July 2025) states, in the first paragraph of section I, in our translation: "Any person who hosts personal health data collected during prevention, diagnosis, care or social and medico-social follow-up activities, on behalf of the natural or legal persons who produced or collected that data or on behalf of the patient themselves, carries out this hosting under the conditions set out in this article." Section II adds: "The host of the data mentioned in the first paragraph of I on a digital medium holds a certificate of conformity."

The text targets whoever hosts on someone else's behalf. A note that stays on your device is not hosted by a third party. As soon as it syncs to a cloud, a provider keeps it for you, which in our reading is the situation the text describes. To go further, see our article on HDS-certified hosting.

HDS certification is specific to French law. In Belgium, the GDPR governs this data; in Switzerland, the Federal Act on Data Protection. In both cases we recommend a tool that keeps data in Europe, on infrastructure certified for health data.

Lost or stolen device: what to do

The CNIL defines a data breach as a loss of availability, integrity or confidentiality of personal data, whether accidental or unlawful. A stolen tablet holding session notes is one. Article 33 of the GDPR provides for notification to the supervisory authority, with an initial notification within 72 hours, when the breach poses a risk to individuals. If the risk is high, article 34 also requires informing the patients concerned. In all cases, the CNIL asks you to document the incident internally. In Belgium, the same GDPR articles apply with the Belgian data protection authority; Switzerland has its own rules, which we recommend checking with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

An encrypted, locked device with remote wipe keeps the notes unreadable, which greatly reduces the risk to patients.

Securing your tablet in 10 points

These are recommendations, not legal obligations. They apply to phones and laptops too.

• 1. A passcode of six digits or more, or a password, on top of Face ID or Touch ID.
• 2. Auto-lock set to two minutes at most.
• 3. Location and remote wipe turned on (Find My on Apple, Find My Device on Android).
• 4. Encryption checked, including on the computer (FileVault, BitLocker).
• 5. No patient notes in an app synced to a consumer cloud; turn off iCloud sync for your notes app if you use it for patients.
• 6. No full names in note or file titles: initials or a code.
• 7. Notification previews hidden on the lock screen.
• 8. A device reserved for the practice, or at least a separate profile, never lent to children or relatives.
• 9. System updates installed without delay.
• 10. Regular clean-up: delete screenshots, downloads and drafts once the note is in the patient file.

Fictional example: an organised consultation day

Claire, a psychologist in private practice (a fictional character), sees six patients on a Tuesday. She has a laptop at the office and a tablet.

• 8:45: she opens the files of the day's patients on the laptop and reads the summary and planned topics for each session. The tablet stays in her bag.
• 9:00 to 12:00: three sessions. For two patients who agreed, the clinical assistant transcribes what is said from the laptop on the desk, lid lowered. The third prefers that no device runs: she notes three words on paper.
• Between sessions: five minutes to review and correct the previous session's report, or to dictate her observations for the patient without transcription. The paper note is destroyed once dictated.
• 14:00 to 17:00: a home visit to an elderly patient. No laptop: she dictates her observations from the tablet's browser, in the car, right after.

Common mistakes

• Believing an iPad passcode is enough while the notes are copied to iCloud or the app's cloud.
• Using a personal Google account assuming Google's HDS certification covers it: according to its website, it covers Google Cloud and Workspace used by businesses, with a contract addendum.
• Keeping notes in two places (Goodnotes and the software) without ever deleting the first copy.
• Not knowing what to do after a theft and missing the 72-hour window.

Why Delta fits this case

Delta is the clinical assistant for mental health professionals: it transcribes what is said in session or works from your dictation after the session, drafts the report and keeps the memory of each patient in an up-to-date record. It runs in the browser on computers, tablets and phones, with a Mac and Windows app recommended in session. Data stays in Europe, in France, on infrastructure certified for health data, and no audio file is kept.

The Free plan includes 10 sessions a month, no card required. The Pro plan costs €35 a month incl. VAT with no commitment, or €29 a month billed annually (€348 a year), with unlimited sessions and a 14-day trial without a card. Practices with 5 or more practitioners get volume pricing on quote. Delta also drafts your letters, certificates and reports in your own vocabulary and structure, learned from your existing reports (see our clinical document templates). See also Delta for psychologists.

Sources

• Légifrance, article L1111-8 of the French Public Health Code (version in force since 1 July 2025), accessed 6 November 2026.
• CNIL, Notifying a personal data breach (published 24 May 2018, in French).
• Apple, iCloud data security overview (published 5 January 2026).
• Google Cloud, HDS compliance, accessed 6 November 2026.
• Goodnotes, Goodnotes Cloud FAQs, accessed 6 November 2026.