A Closer Look at Digital Journaling Apps

A new app popped up on my phone with one of the latest updates, and it’s a journaling app! Did you get it, too? Did you try it? What do you think?

I confess, even though I do some digital journaling (which I’ll talk about later in the episode), I haven’t tried any sort of journaling app yet. But I know there are several journaling apps out there.

Have you wanted to check them out? Are you worried about the confidentiality of any of these apps? Do you think it might be cool to categorize your journal entries so you can find connected topics?

Let’s take a look at some questions you can ask yourself to discern if a digital journaling app might be a good fit for you, and if so, which one you might want to try.

Questions to Ask About a Journaling App

While I’m going to share quite a few questions you can ask about a journaling app, I don’t want to overwhelm you. If the idea interests you, just try it out and see, without overthinking it.

But if you want to journal digitally long-term, here are some things you should consider.

#1 – What are the privacy terms?

Is your information truly confidential? Are your journal entries protected by encryption? Does it matter to you either way? I know privacy statements can be kind of boring to read, but if you’re writing about things you want to keep confidential, this would be one you want to read.

The journaling app Penzu boasts that its number one concern is your privacy. It says that “it keeps your journals safe with double password protection and military strength encryption.” The app Day One also says it has advanced security. So if privacy is something that worries you and you want to try a journaling app, one of those might be a good one to try.

#2 – Is it easy for you to access?

Do you want to be able to access it on both your phone and computer, or just one of them? How do you normally journal? Even if you typically write on your computer, there might be times you can only get to your phone. Do you want to be able to write using either one?

Again, Penzu says it works well on computers, phones, and tablets. So does Diaro.

#3 – Is it searchable?

Do you want it to be? Some feature tags or categories that help you find related journal entries, which is great if you want to go back and see what you’ve written about something.

For example, Day One allows you to tag your journal entries as well as your location. Diaro also allows you to add tags to your entries and set a location, but it also includes a search feature. I don’t know about you, but I use the search feature a lot on Word Docs and email and websites. It’s so helpful!

#4 – Is it easy to use?

Can you easily figure out how to use it, or is it too complicated for you? I am quickly turned off from an app if it seems too cluttered or is too hard to figure out. The more obstacles I have to face, the less likely I am to use it. What about you?

#5 – Is there a cost involved?

And if so, are you willing to pay that? Some apps will be free to use, but if you’re looking for privacy or more space or features, you’ll probably have to pay something. Make sure you know if it’s a one-time fee or a monthly one.

#6 – Can you export your journal entries off the app?

Do you want to be able to do that? Sometimes this is helpful if you want to switch between journaling apps or if you want to export your entries into something like a Word Doc or Google Doc.

#7 – Do you want to be able to add photos or other graphics?

Or will you stick with just writing? And even with the writing, do you want to use different colors or fonts or highlights, or do you want just plain text?

The apps Dabble.Me and Momento allow you to attach a photo to your journal entries. And with the upgraded option, Journey.Cloud lets you format your journal entries. Think about using bold or italics or something like that.

#8 – Do you want it to remind you to journal?

Or are you pretty good at doing it on your own? Or do you just want to journal whenever the notion strikes you?

The app Daylio will send you an unlimited number of reminders if you’re on its premium plan.

#9 – Do you want journal prompts?

Or do you want to write whatever you want?

The Five Minute Journal App is one that offers prompts for you to write about, while others are more open-ended.

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Journaling Apps

As I said at the beginning, there are several journaling apps out there. Take what you’ve learned about digital journaling from the questions we just talked about, and do a search to see if one of these might be a good fit for you in this season. For example, search for “best private journaling app with tags” or “journaling app with prompts.”

Here are some of the apps that are currently available:

• Day One
• Grid Diary
• Dabble Me
• 5 Minute Journal
• Journey.Cloud
• My Diary
• Penzu
• Daybook
• 750 Words
• Momento

I’ll also mention that there are some note apps or word processors that can also work well for digital journaling. Like,

• Microsoft Word
• Google Docs
• GoodNotes
• OneNote
• Evernote
• Simplenote
• Notion

In fact, this is what I currently do. I tend to do microjournaling (which means, short entries) using OneNote on my phone, and then once a month or so, I transfer those to a password-protected Word Doc on my computer. I like that it’s searchable, and I can add entries wherever I’m at because it’s right on my phone. And when I need to do a longer entry, I just do it right on my computer.

Journal Prompt: When might digital journaling come in handy for you, and when might you want to stick with pen and paper?

Your journal prompt for this week is, when might digital journaling come in handy for you, and when might you want to stick with pen and paper?

There really isn’t a one right answer here. Science shows that writing something down by hand, putting down on paper, is really powerful. Yet there are some advantages that digital journaling can offer us. And journaling, in and of itself, is powerful.

Try to keep an open mind. Sometimes we resist new things simply because they’re different. But when we take time to truly consider them, to look at some advantages, to be mindful of the disadvantages, and try them out, we find they might actually be pretty useful to us.

Prayer

God, we are thankful that we can meet with You absolutely anywhere—and that includes in whatever format our journaling takes. Don’t let us get caught up in the methods and how-tos, but let us focus more on simply spending that time with You. Speak to us, Lord. Teach us to pay attention to Your presence, Your voice, Your words. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 137: 3 Easy Ways to Journal When You Don’t Know What to Write About
• Episode 146: Introduction to Journaling: Creating Your Own Journaling Routine
• Episode 153: Can 5 Minutes Journaling Really Make a Difference?

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