Apple’s Journal app is genuinely good. It’s built into the iPhone, costs nothing extra, and lets you add photos, video, drawings, audio, music and places to an entry. Its journaling suggestions surface the photos you took and the places you went, so starting an entry is easy. And when it syncs through iCloud, journal data is end-to-end encrypted.
The catch is where it runs: iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple doesn’t offer Journal for Android, Windows or the web. That’s usually what sends people looking:
- You switched from iPhone to Android, or you’re about to.
- Your household — or your own bag — has both: an Android phone and an iPad, say.
- You’d rather your journal not live in iCloud.
At a glance
| Apple Journal | Ownmost | |
|---|---|---|
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Android; iOS coming soon |
| Price | Built in, no extra cost | Free for up to 30 entries; one-time purchase (Full Access), not a subscription |
| Account | Apple Account (iCloud) to sync across devices | None |
| Storage and sync | iCloud sync; journal data end-to-end encrypted | Stored on your device; sync is direct between your own nearby devices |
| Backup | Not included in iCloud backups; included only in an encrypted local backup on a Mac or PC | Optional, to your own iCloud or Google Drive |
| Lock | Face ID, Touch ID or passcode | Passcode plus Face ID or fingerprint |
| Export | Save entries as PDF and print (iOS 18 or later); export all as a ZIP | A PDF book with a cover and contents (Full Access); text file, always free |
| Writing help | Journaling suggestions | Layouts like Gratitude, Day in review and Books and lines; a daily question |
Apple Journal details were checked on October 2, 2026 against Apple’s own support documents, linked at the end.
When Apple Journal is the better pick
- You live entirely on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It’s already installed, and iCloud keeps the same journal on all of them.
- Journaling suggestions are what get you writing. Having your phone hand you today’s photos and places is a real advantage.
- You want video, drawings or music in your entries.
When Ownmost is the better pick
You’re on Android. Ownmost is available on Google Play now. The iPhone version is coming soon.
You want no account and no company servers. There’s nothing to sign up for. Entries live on your device, and since there are no servers for your entries, we can’t read them. They only leave your phone if you turn on backup (to your own iCloud or Google Drive) or syncing with your own nearby device. For completeness: the app sends usage statistics and crash reports to Google Firebase. That’s on by default, you can switch it off in Settings, and it never includes your entries.
You like a little structure. Pick Gratitude for three good things, Day in review for three evening questions, Books and lines for a passage and what it made you think, or Travel, Dream and Letter. A daily Today’s question helps on blank nights, and you can tap the mic to dictate instead of typing.
You want your month as a book. Ownmost turns a month into an A4 PDF with a cover and a contents page, in a date-first or photo-first layout you preview with your own entries. Here’s how to make one.
You like seeing where your days happened. If you allow it, the places your photos were taken collect on a Footprints map — which opens with no internet at all.
Moving from iPhone to Android
There’s no importer from Apple Journal. Before you switch, save your Journal entries as PDF or export them all on the iPhone so you keep an archive, then start fresh in Ownmost on the new phone. If you have old paper diaries, you can photograph pages and Ownmost will turn them into text.
You can try Ownmost in your browser first — it comes with a month of sample entries.
Sources
- Protect your Journal entries (iPhone User Guide): https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/protect-your-journal-entries-iph9c59b1557/ios
- Print and export Journal entries: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/print-and-export-entries-iph4cad323fe/ios
- Back up and export Journal entries: https://support.apple.com/en-us/121822
- iCloud data security overview: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651
- Journal User Guide for Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/journal/welcome/mac
Features change. Everything above was checked on October 2, 2026.