They were only on the old device
You spent two years writing study notes for a certification exam in an app. You bought a new device and reset the old one. When you opened the app on the new one, there was nothing in it. Only then did you learn that the notes had lived on the old device alone.
Where an app keeps your notes, and in what form, is easy to ignore until it is too late.
Your notes are visible in the Files app
BijaVault keeps each note on your iPhone as a plain text file (.md). In the Files app, open “On My iPhone”. There is a “BijaVault” folder, and your notes are in its “Notes” folder.
Before you switch phones, you can copy that folder’s contents to iCloud Drive or to a computer. When you connect your iPhone to a Mac, BijaVault also appears under Files in Finder. Images you added to notes are in the “_images” folder in the same place.
Copied notes open anywhere
The notes are text only, so any text editor, or any other app that reads Markdown, opens them as they are. Even if you stop using BijaVault, the copies stay readable.
After installing BijaVault on your new iPhone, put the copied .md files back into BijaVault’s “Notes” folder with the Files app. They appear in your list the next time you open BijaVault.
What it doesn’t do
BijaVault does not currently sync notes between devices automatically. When you switch phones or want a copy on your computer, copy the files as described above.
What you need
Getting your notes out through the Files app works at any time, whether or not you have paid. You don’t need to sign in.