Journal is a personal journaling app developed by Apple Inc. for iPhones, first revealed during the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference before officially being released on December 11, 2023, alongside iOS 17.2.[1][2] The app encourages users to create journal entries in which they can record and reflect upon their thoughts and activities.[3]
Features
The app features a simple interface which displays all of a user's previous journal entries, alongside a plus button at the bottom of the screen to create a new entry. These entries can also be filtered by attachment type or bookmarked for faster look-up. When creating a new entry, Journal will provide a user with writing suggestions generated on-device based on their activity throughout the day by grouping data together, such as a prompt which includes a number of photos taken at a specific location, or one that includes a recorded workout as well as a playlist that was being listened to during the activity. The app can also suggest "reflection" prompts, which are statements or questions intended to inspire a user to begin writing.[3]
A user can also manually attach data to a journal entry during writing, including support for photos, video, voice recordings, location tags, completed workouts, recent contacts, and music playlists amongst other info. Third-party developers can choose to integrate their own data into journaling suggestions, and an API allows for other third-party journaling apps to utilize the same on-device journaling suggestions.[4]
Journal can be locked to prevent access from other users without a passcode or Face ID, and a journaling schedule can also be set which sends a notification out at a set time on chosen days to encourage consistent use.[5]
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