# Chronicle - A Personal Journal / Writing Diary

> Digital journaling app for well-being, productivity, and creative writing. (iPhone/iPad app by Steven Romej.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chronicle-a-personal-journal-writing-diary/id371886793 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Steven Romej](https://appshunter.io/developer/304074939)
- Category: Lifestyle, Productivity
- Price: $2.99 with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 879 App Store ratings · 335 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 8.1 · 4 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2010-05-28
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chronicle-a-personal-journal-writing-diary/id371886793/reviews.md

## What is Chronicle?

Take note of life with Chronicle, a simple journaling app that offers more than bound sheets without overcomplicating the writing experience. 

Focused writing. Multiple photos per entry that you can move, resize, rotate - your words flow around them. A recent New York Magazine article cites research showing people experienced improvement in "physical and mental well-being. They were happier, less depressed and less anxious" after writing about emotional or stressful events for a few days.

Start writing more, today. Reliable storage, autosave, and passcode lock protect your words; share or read them on your computer with PDF, text, and email export. You can also create backups and save them to other apps such as Dropbox, Drive, and Evernote.

Your journal will never run out of pages, but you can manage different topics or years in separate journals with the notebooks add-on.

Take a break from social networks. Write comfortably knowing you can find anything you wrote with built-in search. Search results include relevant snippets of text so you can easily find the exact entry you’re looking for.

According to a Harvard Business School paper, taking 15 minutes to reflect on your work at end of the workday can boost job performance (the study's journaling group performed 22.8% better on a test than the control group that simply continued working).

Start keeping a journal or diary. Organize chapters for a novel. Jot down notes and ideas. You can always export what you’ve written for safekeeping. 

WHAT OTHERS SAY

* "A great app - probably my favourite app on my new iPad actually.  Thanks!" - Jennifer N. v1.1.3

* "This is a developer who cares about quality product and is willing to consider any feature and solve any problem." - rbart09 on v1.0.6

* "Be assured that even with zero changes, this app is a real winner and a bargain at that!" - DeborahJay on v1.0

* "This is an elegant app that makes journaling with the iPad a snap, pretty much any time anywhere." - chaletchic on v1.0.3

* "I love the ease of use and simplicity, it really promotes getting your ideas down quickly and efficiently." - Tim Thomas on v1.0.2

THINGS YOU CAN DO

* Distraction free writing in portrait or landscape mode
* Put photos where you want. The text wraps around them.
* No limit to the number of photos you can put on the page
* Pick a font and font size just like you do in iBooks
* Customize the text color of your journal
* Easy back-dating; tap to adjust the entry date as needed
* Resize and rotate photos. Tap for a fullscreen, zoomable version.
* Customize your journal's page color
* Crisp PDF export preserves layout and photo placement
* Export your entire journal as a plain text file
* Fast search that provides context around keywords
* Support for Dynamic Type means text is never too small to read
* Extended keyboard makes it easy to insert timestamps into your writing
* Turn word count on to see a total as you type
* Optimized scrolling; scroll back a whole year in a few seconds
* Set a password to protect your journal entries
* Export single entries via email, with photos embedded
* Quick launch. Chronicle remembers the last entry you were on.
* Arrange your photos by dragging them; rotate with two fingers
* Autosave and undo while you're writing

EXTRA JOURNALS

If you need a way to organize your writing, get the Notebooks add-on with in-app purchase. The cover is styled based on your text settings within the notebook. Unlimited notebooks you can drag and reorder.

ACCESSIBLE

No need to squint. In addition to being able to adjust the journal's font size, you can change the system's Text Size from the Settings app to make the UI text in Chronicle easy to read. I've also added accessibility and VoiceOver improvements.


Thank you for all of the emails with compliments and suggestions! Please consider rating the app or leaving a review.

SUPPORT

Contact me at slidetorock.com with questions / suggestions.

## Key features

- Distraction-free writing
- Multiple photos per entry with text wrapping
- Reliable storage and autosave
- Passcode lock for privacy
- PDF, text, and email export
- Built-in search with snippets
- Notebooks add-on for organization

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: $2.99.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Multiple Notebooks | $1.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Chronicle?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 💻 Easy to use
- 📷 Ability to add photos
- 🔒 Password protection
- 🗓️ Useful for journaling and logging daily activities
- 🎨 Customizable fonts and page colors
- 🔍 Good search functionality
- 🗂️ Ability to create multiple journals

**Cons**

- 🐛 Crashes and issues with compatibility after iOS updates
- 🔒 Lack of password reset option
- 📁 Difficulty transferring data between devices
- 🖍️ Limited formatting options (no bold, italic, etc.)
- 📆 Inability to change date of individual entries

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Entries disappearing or not saving properly
- Issues with photo insertion and formatting
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

**Most requested features**

- Ability to sync entries across devices
- More formatting options (bold, italic, highlight, etc.)
- Calendar view for entries
- Templates or daily prompts
- Ability to rearrange or delete a range of entries

## Recent user reviews (10 of 335)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chronicle-a-personal-journal-writing-diary/id371886793/reviews.md

### 1/5 — It crashes on opening

*2026-06-08, version 2.0.4*

Just purchased this opened and it shuts. I tried repeatedly. Fix or refund

### 4/5 — Sad

*2026-03-03, version 2.0.4*

Highly recommend. A simple to use and great app for journal writers.
Sadly I accidentally deleted about three (3) years of my last journal. And cannot retrieve any of it!

### 1/5 — App won’t open

*2026-02-06, version 2.0.4*

App won’t open on my phone since update…all entries gone

### 5/5 — Exceptional

*2026-01-03, version 2.0.4*

I have been using this app for many years, and I am satisfied with its performance.  What ‘s missing is the synchronization between devices and iCloud backup. If those are added, I would consider the app to be near perfect.

### 4/5 — Used for decade but…

*2025-12-01, version 2.0.4*

I have used Chronicle for over a decade and love it for a personal journal. There are two things that I wish the app would add to its features. The ability to bold and italicize text and sync to other devices.

### 4/5 — Love the app!

*2025-10-24, version 2.0.4*

I used it for years!  I made a mistake and deleted it. I tried to email the developer and got no response.

### 1/5 — Crashing

*2025-09-28, version 2.0.4*

After buying and store memories now it crash without opening

### 4/5 — Journaller Ive had it for years and with the new IOS i can’t open it any more.  it doesn’t accept my

*2025-09-08, version 2.0.4*

I totally enjoy Chronicle.  I write my journal every day and I add pictures and fav information about my day.  I would love it if there was any way to highlight important information.  But over all it's a good program.

### 5/5 — Fabulous

*2025-08-14, version 2.0.4*

Just adore this diary. Really enjoy and look forward to writing up my day/s activities and adding photo's is so easy I find I'm taking lots of everyday shots that I might just pass on but now their recorded for all times. Thanks for developing such a beautiful app.

### 1/5 — Crashes

*2025-07-05, version 2.0.4*

Right after I purchased the app, it crashed

## Frequently asked questions about Chronicle

### What does Chronicle do?

Chronicle is a digital journaling app designed for personal reflection and writing. It allows users to write entries, incorporate multiple photos that wrap with text, and offers features like autosave, passcode lock, and robust search functionality to help users organize and find their thoughts.

### What are the key features of Chronicle?

Key features include distraction-free writing in both portrait and landscape modes, the ability to add multiple photos per entry with text wrapping, customizable fonts and colors, reliable autosave, passcode lock for privacy, and comprehensive export options to PDF, text, and email. It also offers a fast search with relevant snippets and an optional notebooks add-on for organizing different topics or years.

### How much does Chronicle cost?

The application is free to download and use, offering core journaling features. There are in-app purchases available, such as the notebooks add-on, which allows for further organization of entries into separate journals for different topics or years.

### What are the common use cases for Chronicle?

Users can utilize Chronicle for daily journaling to improve mental well-being, as a personal diary to record life events, or for creative writing projects like organizing chapters for a novel. It's also useful for jotting down notes and ideas, and for reflecting on work to boost job performance.

### Can I access my journal entries on my computer?

Yes, you can access and read your journal entries on your computer. The app offers export options for PDF, plain text, and email, allowing you to save your writings and share them. You can also create backups and save them to cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Evernote.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0.4 — 2016-09-23

This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included.

Celebrating more than SIX YEARS on the App Store! This update focused on fixing bugs and updating the app so that it works better on all iOS devices. Extensive under-the-hood changes, with a few you'll notice (a little anticlimactic for me after all this work!).

Each update clears the previous reviews. Thanks for taking the time to update your review/rating for new releases - it means a lot to me.

- New setting to show entry and photo storage; you can force deletion of temporary files to save space
- Support for Slide Over and Split View multitasking on iPad
- Improved handling of iOS Text Size settings adjustments
- Improved PDF rendering / printing
- Better, sharper photo thumbnails
- Extended keyboard layout adjustments
- Notebook covers are more adaptive and look better on all devices
- Improved code to handle deleting temporary exported/shared files to cut down on storage
- Updated search library to improve journal indexing
- Fix for jumpy behavior when rotating device while viewing a journal entry
- Added 3 new fonts to the text styles
- Fixed bug that caused words to underlap keyboard while typing
- Better support for input assistant buttons on iPad keyboard (undo, copy, paste)
- Fixed bug in app's settings that occurred when scrolling up and down rapidly
- Updated share/export dialogs (removed previous workaround for iOS 8 issue)
- Search results reload to reflect any changes in system text size
- Fixed transition animations (opening notebooks and viewing photos under iOS 9)
- Updated layout to work better no matter what screen size you have
- Faster launch and improved launch screen for all devices
- Fixed a silent crash that could occur when exiting the app
- Fixed a crash that could occur when editing date of old entry
- Improved support for iOS 9 and 10 (maintains iOS 8 compatibility)
- Removed some workarounds that were necessary under iOS 7
- Updated alert views, action sheets, and popovers

Previous changes:
- Privacy lock enhancements, especially for older devices
- Ability to export all entries as a text file
- Faster backup and export creation
- Ability to Mail your backups or you can 'Open In...' to save them elsewhere
- App keeps recent backups, cleans up older ones to save storage
- Fix for database concurrency issues that could lead to rare crash
- Minor performance update related to displaying entry date

### 2.0.3 — 2015-01-29

- Privacy lock enhancements, especially for older devices
- Ability to export all entries as a text file
- Faster backup and export creation
- Ability to Mail your backups or you can 'Open In...' to save them elsewhere
- Fix for incorrect entry date in search results
- Improved crash reporting to make sure things get fixed faster
- App keeps recent backups, cleans up older ones to save storage
- Fix for database concurrency issues that could lead to rare crash
- Minor performance update related to displaying entry date

If you enjoy Chronicle, please take a moment to leave a review or star rating. This helps make more app updates possible, especially since the App Store hides previous reviews with each new app update.

From before:
- Improved autosave support
- Ability to import shared Photo Stream photos
- Ability to import the .backup file format from previous Chronicle / Chapters app
- Main views blurred in multitasking app switcher view for enhanced privacy (iOS 8)
- Fixed a crash that could occur when deleting an entry in portrait orientation

- Support for quick backup of all entries
- Fix for crash that could occur when sliding passcode on/off switch
- Made creating backup of selected entries faster
- Fixed a bug that could prevent popovers from appearing
- Completely updated for iOS 8 (full support for devices on 7.0 also)
- Your text now flows around your photos
- PDFs now include photos
- Reduced app download size

### 2.0.2 — 2015-01-13

- Improved autosave support
- Ability to import shared Photo Stream photos
- Ability to import the .backup file format from previous Chronicle / Chapters app
- Main views blurred in multitasking app switcher view for enhanced privacy (iOS 8)
- puzzlenut123: Contact me, you are the only one to report the lock issue and I need your help.
- Fixed a crash that could occur when deleting an entry in portrait orientation

If you enjoy Chronicle, please take a moment to leave a review or star rating. This helps make more app updates possible, especially since the App Store hides previous reviews with each new app update. 

From before:
- Support for creating a backup of all entries in your journal from app settings (if you have the Notebooks add-on you can select multiple notebooks and create a backup)
- Fix for crash that could occur when sliding passcode on/off switch
- Made creating backup of selected entries faster
- Fixed a bug that could prevent popovers from appearing
- Completely updated for iOS 8 (full support for devices on 7.0 also!)
- Your text now flows around your photos
- PDFs now include photos
- Tap a photo to view it fullscreen (tap again to hide toolbar)
- Support for Dynamic Type so all interface text is your preferred size
- Share and export to other apps
- Multiple journals with the Notebooks in-app purchase
- Undo support while composing entries
- Optional word count
- Year and month now shown in entries list
- Optional extended keyboard with helpful buttons and timestamp
- Reduced download size by 1MB
- Before updating, create a backup file, just in case. I can help with any issues you encounter.

### 2.0.1 — 2015-01-05

- Support for creating a backup of all entries in your journal from app settings (if you have the Notebooks add-on you can select multiple notebooks and create a backup)
- Fix for crash that could occur when sliding passcode on/off switch
- Made creating backup of selected entries faster
- Fixed a bug that could prevent popovers from appearing

From before:
- Completely updated for iOS 8 (full support for devices on 7.0 also!)
- Your text now flows around your photos
- PDFs now include photos
- Tap a photo to view it fullscreen (tap again to hide toolbar)
- Support for Dynamic Type so all interface text is your preferred size
- Share and export to other apps
- Multiple journals with the Notebooks in-app purchase
- Undo support while composing entries
- Optional word count
- Year and month now shown in entries list
- Optional extended keyboard with helpful buttons and timestamp
- Reduced download size by 1MB
- Before updating, create a backup file, just in case. I can help with any issues you encounter.

### 2.0.0 — 2014-12-17

- Completely updated for iOS 8 (full support for devices on 7.0 also!)
- Your text now flows around your photos
- PDFs now include photos
- Tap a photo to view it fullscreen (tap again to hide toolbar)
- Support for Dynamic Type so all interface text is your preferred size
- Share and export to other apps
- Multiple journals with the Notebooks in-app purchase
- Undo support while composing entries
- Optional word count
- Year and month now shown in entries list
- Optional extended keyboard with helpful buttons and timestamp
- Reduced download size by 1MB
- Before updating, create a backup file, just in case. I can help with any issues you encounter.

Upcoming: the next update is in development. I'll be adding a backup option to the app settings (you can currently make backups from the notebooks screen).

## Apps similar to Chronicle

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Private Diary & Journal App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/private-diary-and-journal-app/id6608983404) | 4.6 (46) | Free | Lifestyle |
| [Journal X: My Diary with Lock](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-x-my-diary-with-lock/id1360257373) | 4.5 (1,845) | Free | Lifestyle |
| [My Diary with password & lock](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-diary-with-password-and-lock/id6467194692) | 4.7 (601) | Free | Lifestyle |
| [Simple Diary - Daily Journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-diary-daily-journal/id1388195923) | 4.7 (906) | Free | Lifestyle |
| [My Diary - Journal with Lock](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-diary-journal-with-lock/id1579321589) | 4.7 (28,004) | Free | Lifestyle |
| [My Daily Diary ‎](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-daily-diary/id1447344390) | 4.7 (1,126) | Free | Lifestyle |

## More apps by Steven Romej

- [QuickMPG - gas mileage calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quickmpg-gas-mileage-calculator/id336836292)
- [Chapters - Notebooks for Writing](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chapters-notebooks-for-writing/id384499033)
- [Calculess Free - Scientific Calculator for iPad](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calculess-free-scientific-calculator-for-ipad/id417875917)
- [Meetings - Notebooks for Work - Meeting Notes, Agendas, and Minutes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meetings-notebooks-for-work-meeting-notes-agendas-and-minutes/id480510692)
- [Taskboard - Visual Organizer, Lists, Task Manager, and Scheduling](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/taskboard-visual-organizer-lists-task-manager-and-scheduling/id486502241)

All apps by Steven Romej: https://appshunter.io/developer/304074939

## Related topics

[chronicle](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chronicle) · [dictation journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dictation-journal) · [help me write](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/help-me-write)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*