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Evernote acquires Mac drawing app Skitch

The online note-taking service is adding new abilities to crop, annotate, and otherwise modify images through the acquisition. Also: Skitch for Android debuts.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Stephen Shankland
2 min read
Skitch logo

Online note-taking specialist Evernote has acquired Skitch, a Mac app for annotating photos and otherwise editing images, and plans to dramatically expand the software's availability.

For starters, Evernote is making the $20 app free. In addition, "We are committed, not only to making the Skitch Mac app more awesome, but also to bringing Skitch to every desktop and mobile platform under the sun," Evernote's Andrew Sinkov said in a blog post today.

That expansion begins with Skitch's first mobile app, a free download for Android, Evernote said.

"Our goal is to make Skitch a household name with everyone that wants to draw, sketch, annotate, doodle, sign, or highlight something," he added. The software also can be used to share images; 4.7 million currently are shared through Skitch.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Evernote's service is available over the Web and as a native app for Android, iOS, Mac OS X, Windows, and other operating systems. It can handle text, audio, Web links, and other data, but Evernote wanted to improve how its technology deals with graphics, Sinkov said.

"For years, one of our most requested feature areas has been related to improved handling of images and annotation capabilities. Our users take and share millions of photos and screenshots already, but the experience isn't as good as it could be," he said. "In the coming months, you'll see tighter integration between Evernote and Skitch to let you easily draw, ink, grab screenshots, annotate and share your favorite memories."

Today, Evernote users on Macs can drag images to Skitch, modify them, then drag them back. "Our goal is to make this experience much more streamlined," Sinkov said.

A look at Skitch in action.
A look at Skitch in action. Skitch