I swear that every time I read on Reddit about someone being kicked off a platform or having their account locked on an app, it turns out that the user was doing something that was a gross violation of the terms of service they agreed to.

And this story is no different.

I urge everyone to STOP using Notion.

I spent entire days creating a database and just as I was rolling it out to guests, I got BANNED… for no apparent reason, with no explanation, no recourse AND THEY WON’T GIVE ME BACK MY OWN DATA!!

This is pure fucking evil

I warned you. STOP USING NOTION

Now as it turns out, the user had created an application that allowed people to sell their airline miles to others and was aggregating this data in Notion.  Pretty shady industry, and likely violates the airlines’ rules, so not surprising Notion shut this down.

But there’s a couple key points here, even if you’re a completely honest user.

They’re the Final Judge on What is Acceptable

Notion’s content rules include a lot of sensible things.  Obviously, you can’t expect Notion to host data for your criminal enterprise.  But some other rules are either very vague or might surprise people who don’t read lengthy terms documents:

“Do not use Notion AI to spread disinformation.”  OK, but who determines what is disinformation?  

“Notion AI may not be used to generate campaign materials or for political advocacy.”  I think a lot of people might put notes on whatever political or social issues they’re passionate about in Notion.

“We reserve the right to provide additional scrutiny on, suspend the use of and/or discontinue the provision of the Services to individuals and organizations who use the Services…” for a wide variety of things, include investing, work from home, adult entertainment, and other things.

The point is that Notion is going to look at what you’re doing and decide if they like it.  If they don’t like it, you’re out, and your data is gone.

And Regulations Won’t Save You

Don’t expect that the GDPR or similar regulations will save you.  These regulations don’t cover data you generate, but rather only personal information that the service has about you.  Notion has no legal obligation to provide a downloadable copy of your data for you if they kick you off.

Alternatives

LowEndBoxTV created a popular video comparing many different note-taking services that you might enjoy.

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.