For many people, the start of a new year is a time for resolutions. And if your goal is to start a journal, Apple now lets you start one on your iPhone. This is kind of great because your smartphone essentially knows more about you than you’re willing to admit.
Released with the iOS 17.2 update, Apple has had plenty of time to release this app, which was announced at the WWDC23 event. The free-to-use app builds on the company’s portfolio focused on mental and physical health technology and uses data stored locally on your device to generate prompts. We’ve been using Apple’s Journal app since its December 12th release and would like to share our thoughts on it.
Clean design
The Journal app is centered around Apple’s design philosophy. When users open the app for the first time, they see a simple screen with a reverse chronological timeline of their diary entries. A large plus sign will appear at the bottom of the screen with a prompt and the option to start a “New Entry”.
The app displays multiple prompts based on recommendations or recent activity, and users can select one for their diary entry. These toggles are located just below the button that starts a new entry. Keep scrolling to the bottom of the page and you’ll see the app’s “Reflect” prompt. This includes “Record audio around you. Write about what you noticed” to “Describe what you learned about yourself. How can you apply what you learned to your current task?” .”
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Reflection prompts evolve based on usage and prompts for user engagement. Users can add photos and videos, record voice memos, and record locations in diary entries.
Users can also bookmark and edit diary entries.
Everything is in the prompt
Journaling is widely recognized as a way to improve mental health. However, writing down your thoughts after a long day can be a difficult task, especially when you have too much going on in your life. This is the only place the journal app takes full advantage of the data points you have access to on your smartphone.
The app uses data stored on the device, such as photos, music, call logs, and location information, to generate prompts for users to fill out a diary. Additionally, when you first set up the app, we ask for your permission to send you daily notifications as a reminder to make your daily entries.
The data that the Journal app has access to is what sets it apart from other apps available on the app store. And it is accessible in large quantities. The app remembers when you were on a call with a contact, what songs you were listening to that day, and generates prompts. As I scrolled down the recent tab, I noticed that the app was tracking memories from the music and images we listened to.
The app also allows users to curate the songs they want as part of their diary entries. You can play these songs from within the app and relive the moment. However, this feature is limited to Apple Music subscribers. I especially liked the app’s ability to generate prompts within suggestions. If the user is carrying her Apple Watch or smartphone, the app will show prompts like “What did you feel during your walk?” and suggest writing about the experience.
Apple is reportedly working on a technology it’s calling the “Suggestion API” for the time being, which will be made available to other third-party apps as well.
In the meantime, Apple says the Journal app will maintain all processing of the data it accesses on the device. Only backups of your entries are stored in iCloud, providing end-to-end encryption.
When journaling suggestions are enabled, Apple says “limited historical data” including information about your workouts, media usage, communications, and photos is used to create suggestions.
The app can also use Bluetooth to determine the number of devices and contacts around the user to improve and prioritize suggestions. However, I didn’t see this feature in action while using the app.
verdict
Apple’s Journal app attempts to solve one of the fundamental problems of recording your thoughts using prompts. Apps that understand a user’s daily life can provide meaningful suggestions. The ability for users to select the suggestions they would like to write and the ability to create diary entries enriched with music, audio recordings, images, and locations.
The app does a good job of encouraging users to write down their experiences, and even those who aren’t interested in diaries can be encouraged to start writing. The only concern is that the app is limited to his iPhone at the moment.
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