How Apple’s new Journal app is helping me in my healing journey

I understand that it’s easy to pick up a pen and a diary and start journaling, but that’s not always the case. For me, however, the iPhone has become a means to channel my thoughts, unresolved emotions, anxiety, aspirations, and dreams. Now that I’ve begun journaling, I want to share everything about Apple’s Journal app and how you can also develop the habit of journaling.

What is Journaling?

Journaling is a form of writing that helps you express your thoughts on paper. It can vary for each person, but typically, it’s very much like maintaining a daily diary or journal, noting everything from thoughts, ideas to tracking progress and planning. As I mentioned earlier, a journal doesn’t have to be a physical diary; it can also be on a phone, tablet, or computer.

Screenshots from the Journal app (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

What is Apple’s Journal?

Journal is a brand-new iPhone-only app developed by Apple. As the name suggests, the app transforms your iPhone into a tool for recording journal entries, adding pictures, voice notes, and videos. Essentially, it turns your phone into a digital diary, but the concept behind having a journal app goes much deeper. The app’s primary goal is to serve as a mental health aid, and that’s the first thing I also noticed about the Journal app. Apple states that all your entries are stored locally on your iPhone, and you can also create backups of your entries on iCloud. The app is secure and has end-to-end encryption between your device and iCloud. The app asks for your FaceID or passcode after it’s been inactive for a certain amount of time. You can set the app to require your FaceID or passcode after one, five, or 15 minutes of inactivity. It is to be noted that the app requires iOS 17.2 or later and is now available widely as part of that update.

How does the app work?

Most of us have used the Notes app on the iPhone to jot down thoughts, but the Journal app is different. I always found the Notes app cumbersome for journaling, so it’s good to see Apple now offering a dedicated Journal app.

The moment you open the Journal app, the first thing you’ll notice is a blank page and the Plus button at the bottom of the screen. Tap that Plus button, and a blank page will appear on the screen. You can write whatever thought is on your mind and save it on your phone. Your entries can be in text form, but you can also add photos, either from your on-device library or taken directly with the iPhone’s camera within the Journal app. You can also record audio if you don’t prefer to write, like I do sometimes.

Meanwhile, a Location icon allows you to add a map, either of your current location when drafting your Journal entry or by searching for a location relevant to your particular memory.

Once you are finished with your entry, tap Done in the top-right corner, and the entry will be saved to the Journal homepage. You can also edit or update entries after they’ve been saved to the homepage. Tap the three dots (…) in the bottom-right corner of the entry you want to edit, then tap Edit, and you can change your entry.

You can also schedule a journal entry in Settings where you can set a day and time to be reminded to create a new entry (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

But that’s not all. The Journal app can provide you with prompts, called Reflections, that you can write about. These can be suggested topics as well as collections of items stored on your iPhone. The reflections vary from person to person, so they will be different based on what you are journaling about. It’s worth noting that these suggestions appear only on your device, thanks to on-device AI built into the Journal app. These suggestions can be based on photos pulled from the Photos Memories, songs you have listened to, or locations you have visited.

I should also clarify that these suggestions may not appear on the first day of journaling. It takes a couple of journals before the app starts providing suggested topics. So, in all probability, Journal learns from you as you start using the app frequently.

One observation I have about the Journal app is that the suggested topics tend to focus on the positive side. Of course, you can hit the refresh button to bring up new suggestions.

My thoughts on the Journal app

Journaling works best when you make it a habit and there is no best or wrong time to start a journal. It has to be organic, and when you feel like jotting down your thoughts that are bothering you or when you are overwhelmed with feelings that you cannot share with others. The Journal app may seem simple at first, but it is a reminder that if you give people a powerful tool, it can positively impact society. I am sure the app will improve as Apple understands how people are using Journal based on feedback.