Ask HN: What Happened to Evernote?

I have depended on Evernote for a long time without even realizing how much of a daily utility it is. It has been so seamless that I had forgotten I was rolling with the free version, until recently. I noticed a few UI changes which seemed a little unintuitive and some of my notes didn't seem to sync as reliably between my phone and laptop. No biggie, I have gotten used to updates.

Then this week I was working through a new project on a customer's site taking notes in Evernote as I normally do. I spent a good chunk of time going through the project onsite and making a comprehensive list of everything that would need to be done. I noticed the header on my note was grey but assumed it was a UI change. I had 4G reception on my phone and figured, even if something's not quite right I can sync it up back at the office like I normally do as the note would be on my phone. So I proceeded like normal.

The whole note is gone as if it never existed.

Is this some sort of effort to onboard me to the paid version? Have I inadvertently clicked a "yes I accept that the free version is going to become unreliable" button?

I appreciate I am not a great customer - I have been using a free version for years without even thinking about it. But thats kind of the point, Evernote worked so well I never gave it a second thought.

Now I am not 100% sure on the safety of my notes...

What is other people's experience? Have I just been caught napping because I mindlessly clicked an updated terms of use without reading it (as I do)?

If I go paid am I getting something as good as what the old Evernote was like?