Private and open-source alternatives to Apple Journal
6 journaling apps rated against the same public privacy criteria as Apple Journal (Journal app), with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: partial. No third-party trackers in the app, and sharing device analytics with Apple is opt-in. Apple web pages load Apple's own analytics (ac-analytics, sent to metrics.apple.com) by default.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
See the full Apple Journal rating.
The alternatives
DailyTxT Grade B
Self-hosted, encrypted diary web app run with Docker, with Markdown entries, tags, encrypted file uploads and multiple users.
DailyTxT scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the journaling apps criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
jrnl Grade B
Command-line journal that stores entries in plain text files, with tags, search, optional AES encryption and editor integration.
jrnl scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the journaling apps criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Lifeograph Grade B
Offline journal and note-taking application with built-in encryption, WYSIWYG editing, tags and tools that turn entries into tables and charts.
Lifeograph scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the journaling apps criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Journiv Grade C
Self-hosted journal web app with mood tracking, writing prompts, media uploads, search and writing statistics, run with Docker. Released as beta software.
Journiv scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the journaling apps criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Diarium Grade F
Closed-source journal app for Windows, Android, iOS and macOS that stores entries locally and can sync them through the user's own cloud storage, such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or WebDAV.
Diarium scores 20 out of 100 (grade F) on the journaling apps criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales.
Journey Grade F
Closed-source journal and diary app for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows and the web, with photos, location tagging, cloud sync and optional end-to-end encryption.
Based in Singapore. Journey scores 20 out of 100 (grade F) on the journaling apps criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales.