Neovim is a fully open-source modal text editor that runs in the terminal and collects no telemetry. It is hyperextensible: a documented API and Lua scripting let you shape it into anything from a lean writing tool to a full development environment. Because it lives in the terminal, it works over SSH on machines where a graphical editor cannot run.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
Rate Neovim: No account needed
Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
Neovim is the editor for developers who want total control and nothing leaving their machine, and on the privacy question it is the cleanest pick here: there is no telemetry to disable, because none was ever built in. That power comes at a real cost. The learning curve is steep, and the modal editing takes weeks to feel natural. A comfortable setup means assembling and maintaining your own configuration rather than installing a polished IDE. This is a terminal, keyboard-driven tool, not a point-and-click one. Reach for it if you live in the terminal and will invest the time to tune it. Pass if you want an editor that is productive the moment you open it.
Website at a glance
neovim.io
F score 5
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested today
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
Neovim alternatives
VSCodium A community build of VS Code's open-source core with Microsoft's telemetry and branding removed, under the MIT license. Uses the Open VSX extension registry.
Zed A fast open-source editor written in Rust with real-time collaboration. Telemetry is on by default and can be turned off in settings.
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