Their support page does imply if you want to avoid cloud sync you should keep it offline, but perhaps that is just because it is the most brief/user friendly way to describe the situation. There definitely isn't an explicit option to turn off the cloud sync in the device settings, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are workarounds to this once you ssh in. You could also maybe block internet access to the device via your router settings, so you could at least use rsync while at home?
Sounds like you could maybe use git-annex on it for that? (I use rsync (via "FolderSync") on the android-based onyx boox max, so as soon as I turn on wifi it pushes to one of my personal boxes (internal format is a hideous sqlite-based thing, but after the third round of updates they generate competent PDFs so I just push those) - sounds like on this I'd also just use rsync from an ifup script or something...)
Wouldn't you still need to be careful about the device auto-joining to open public wifi? Basically, if you were going to be away from your house you'd have to always remember to disable the wifi before you left. Alternatively, just keeping wifi off and only using the USB cable means you don't have to worry about forgetting to disable wifi before you leave home. :)
Or update/modify the networking, WiFi, routing, gateway, firewall, or other configurations on the device itself such that it connects to and communicates over only specified networks and/or hosts.
Again my point is that relying on off-device, local-netork hardware and configs is brittle.
It's opt-in, FWIW, it doesn't work unless you log in to a ReMarkable account and you can just store everything locally. It has ~6GB of usable space (8GB but 1-2GB reserved by OS)
Yes, I can confirm this. I have never connected my device to wifi. I backup my notes to my home server using rsync.