The Post-it App Is Gone: Alternatives for Mac (2026)
3M retired the Post-it App on September 29, 2026, with no replacement. On a Mac, Apple's Freeform takes over its boards of sticky notes, synced through iCloud, and Miro still turns a photo of paper notes into separate digital notes. For notes on the Mac desktop itself, use Apple's Stickies or BetterStickies.
What Happened to the Post-it App
3M's notice says the Post-it App is no longer available for download or use after September 29, 2026, after a brand decision to retire the mobile app experience. It has been removed from the app stores, and 3M names no successor. This applies on every device it ran on: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, and Chromebook.
Before the cutoff, 3M asked users to export their boards to PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, or an image, and not to rely on the app's own .postit format, which, 3M says, only the Post-it App opens. If you exported, those files are what you carry to a new app (see Moving Your Exported Boards).
What the Post-it App Did, and What Replaces Each Part
The app did three jobs, and no single replacement does all three:
- Capture: photograph a wall of paper Post-it notes and get each one back as its own digital note, with its handwriting.
- Boards: arrange those notes on a board, group them, and share or export the result.
- Sync: the same boards on iPhone, iPad, and Mac through iCloud.
| What you used it for | Best replacement on a Mac |
|---|---|
| Turning photos of paper notes into digital notes | Miro (Stickies capture) |
| Boards of sticky notes, synced to iPhone and iPad | Apple Freeform |
| A quick note that ends up in your notes library | Apple Notes (Quick Note) |
| Notes that stay visible on the desktop while you work | Apple's Stickies or BetterStickies |
Apple Freeform
Freeform is Apple's whiteboard app. It comes with macOS Ventura 13.1 and later and is on iPhone and iPad (iOS and iPadOS 16.2 or later), and boards stay in sync across your Apple devices through iCloud. It is the closest match for anyone who used the Post-it App's boards.
- Sticky notes on a board: insert a sticky note, pick its color, format its text, and arrange it with shapes, photos, files, and lines.
- Photos from your iPhone: on a Mac, Insert Media > Take Photo or Scan Documents uses a nearby iPhone or iPad's camera, and the photo or scan lands on the board.
- Sharing: boards can be shared for others to edit.
- Export: File > Export Board as PDF.
What it doesn't do: a photo of paper notes stays one picture on the board. Freeform doesn't split it into separate, editable sticky notes. Some image tools (Auto Crop, Super Resolution, advanced image generation) need an Apple Creator Studio subscription.
Miro
Miro is an online whiteboard with a Mac desktop app (macOS 12 or later) and iPhone, iPad, and Android apps. Its Stickies capture is the nearest thing left to the Post-it App's camera: take or choose a photo of paper sticky notes, and each note becomes its own editable Miro sticky note on the board.
- Capture limits: it needs Miro AI turned on and reads English text only; a note it can't read lands on the board as an image. On a phone you can take the photo in the app; on a tablet or the web you pick an existing photo.
- Price: the free plan keeps three boards editable. Paid plans start at $8 per member per month, billed yearly.
- Collaboration: boards are shared and edited with others in real time.
What it doesn't do: boards live in a Miro account, and it is a workspace for teams more than a personal notes app.
Apple Notes
If you mostly used the Post-it App to keep a few notes, Apple Notes may be enough. On a Mac, press Fn (or Globe) and Q for a Quick Note over whatever you're doing; it saves to the Quick Notes folder. File > Insert from iPhone or iPad scans a document or takes a photo into a note, and on an iPhone, Scan Text types the words it sees on paper into the note for you. That gives you one block of text, not separate notes, and there is no board view.
BetterStickies
BetterStickies is a sticky notes app for the Mac desktop: notes are their own windows that stay visible while you work, more like real Post-it notes on a monitor than a board in an app. On a Mac it runs on Apple Silicon with macOS 15 Sequoia or later and comes as a notarized .dmg download.
- Paste anything: a screenshot, files, code, a link, or rich text from a web page keeps its form in the note.
- Checklists and reminders: nested checklists, and a reminder on any note.
- Always on top, on every Space: a note can stay above other windows, and notes appear on every Space (not yet over full-screen apps).
- Shortcuts from anywhere: ⌃⌥N makes a new note and ⌃⌥V turns the clipboard into one, with no Accessibility permission to grant.
- Price: free for 4 notes, with no signup and no time limit (each extra tab inside a note counts as one of the four); a one-time Premium unlock, currently $7.99, removes the limit. No subscription.
What it doesn't do, and these matter to a Post-it App user: there is no iPhone or Android app and no sync, so notes stay on the Mac they were written on. It has no board, it can't read photos of paper notes, and it can't turn the Post-it App's exports back into notes (an exported image pastes in as one picture).
Apple's Stickies
Stickies comes with every Mac: plain sticky notes on the desktop, with colors, fonts, pictures, and Float on Top. It has no iPhone version, but File > Export All to Notes moves your notes into Apple Notes, which syncs. For how it compares with BetterStickies in detail, see Sticky Notes for Mac: Better Stickies vs Apple's Stickies.
Comparison
| Freeform | Miro | Apple Notes | BetterStickies | Stickies (Apple) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Built in (some extras by subscription) | Free plan with 3 editable boards; paid from $8 per member per month, billed yearly | Built in | Free for 4 notes; $7.99 one-time for unlimited | Built in |
| Boards | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Photo of paper notes into separate notes | No (inserts the photo) | Yes (English text, needs Miro AI) | No (Scan Text gives one block of text) | No | No |
| iPhone and iPad | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Sync | iCloud | Miro account, online | iCloud | No | No (exports to Notes) |
| Notes on the desktop over other apps | No | No | Quick Note window | Yes (always on top, every Space; not over full-screen apps yet) | Yes (Float on Top) |
| Mac requirement | macOS 13.1 or later | macOS 12 or later | Built in | Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later | Built in |
Moving Your Exported Boards
None of the apps compared here documents opening the Post-it App's .postit files. Miro's Post-it integration sent boards to Miro from inside the Post-it App, so it ended with the app; boards sent that way before the cutoff are still in Miro. What each app can do with the exports 3M recommended:
- PDF or image: Freeform adds a PDF to a board (multipage PDFs included) or an image as a photo. Miro accepts both as uploads, and Stickies capture, which Miro documents for photos of paper notes, may split an exported image of your board back into sticky notes (English text only).
- Excel: Miro uploads
.xlsxfiles, and spreadsheet cells you copy and paste with Paste as sticky notes become one sticky note per cell. - PowerPoint: Miro uploads
.pptxfiles. Freeform's guide doesn't list PowerPoint among the files it adds.
When to Choose Each
- Freeform: you used the Post-it App's boards on an iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and want the same idea built in, synced through iCloud.
- Miro: you photographed paper notes after workshops or brainstorms and want each one back as a digital note, or you work with a team.
- Apple Notes: your Post-it notes were really a handful of reminders and lists.
- BetterStickies: you want notes on the Mac desktop that stay in view while you work, with screenshots, checklists, and reminders in them, and you don't need them on your phone. It also runs on Windows and Linux, if you use a PC too.
- Apple's Stickies: you want plain desktop notes with nothing to install.
For more on Mac sticky notes, see Sticky Notes for Mac; for Windows and Linux, see Best Sticky Notes Apps for Windows and Linux.
FAQ
Is the Post-it App discontinued?
Yes. 3M retired the Post-it App: it stopped working after September 29, 2026, after a brand decision to retire the mobile app experience, and 3M offers no replacement app.
Can I still download the Post-it App?
No. 3M removed it from the app stores, so it can't be downloaded or reinstalled, and copies already installed stopped working after September 29, 2026.
What is the best Post-it App alternative for Mac?
It depends on what you used it for. For boards of sticky notes synced to your iPhone and iPad, Apple's Freeform is the closest match and comes with macOS. For turning photos of paper notes into digital ones, Miro's Stickies capture. For sticky notes on the Mac desktop, Apple's Stickies or BetterStickies.
Can any app turn a photo of Post-it notes into digital sticky notes?
Miro can: its Stickies capture turns a photo of paper sticky notes into separate, editable Miro sticky notes. It needs Miro AI turned on and reads English text only. Freeform and Apple Notes can insert or scan the photo, but they don't split it into notes.
Can I open my .postit files in another app?
None of the apps above documents opening .postit files, which is why 3M recommended exporting to PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, or an image before the cutoff.
Was there a Post-it App for Windows?
No. The Post-it App ran on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, and Chromebook, and 3M's FAQ asked people who wanted a Windows version to write in. If you want sticky notes on a Windows PC and a Mac, BetterStickies runs on both (and on Linux). See Stickies for Windows for the Windows options.