Apple has launched Journal, a diary app. We first got wind of the tech giant’s diary app in April, then it was unveiled in June; this is its full release following a public beta. It comes alongside the iOS 17.2 update, so you’ll need to install it before you can get Journal.
Journal’s stand-out feature is its unique ability to provide “private, personalized suggestions to inspire journal entries.”
Think about it: your phone is the hub of your life. You call people with it, take pictures, it records your location — the list goes on. With all that data, your iPhone can predict what occasions you may want to remember and prompt you to take a little note for later.
“Suggestions based on user activity include writing prompts to empower meaningful insights,” Apple’s press release said, “and daily reflection prompts help users focus on gratitude, kindness, purpose, and more. Users control the type of content that appears in Suggestions and can create a journal entry with the Suggestions they choose.”
That data from your “user activity” can be attached to the Journal entry you create. Some are the simple kinds of data that plenty of other journaling apps are set up to include, like photos or your location. However, there’s much more information to include by taking advantage of Apple’s suite of services, like a workout you did through Apple Fitness or the podcast you were listening to on Apple Music.
There’s also a Journaling Suggestions API that third-party app developers can use. They can use the API to prompt you to write in their app based on the data Apple has collected, just like Journal does. Day One, a popular journaling app, has already done so.
“We have integrated the Journaling Suggestions API into the Day One app to give our users an even richer experience that puts privacy at the forefront, and we can’t wait for them to try it,” said Paul Mayne, founder of Day One, in Apple’s press release.
If you’re wondering about privacy, here’s what you should know. Everything is local, which means it’s only stored on your device and not backed up or shared. The only exception is the Journal entries stored in the iCloud. However, they’re still end-to-end encrypted during that process, so Apple can’t read them.
Image credit: Apple
Source: Apple
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