# Opal: Guided Journal & Diary — Prompts & reflection for depth > Private AI journaling app for self-reflection, pattern discovery, and guided personal growth. (iPhone/iPad app by Darby Tarlow.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opal-guided-journal-and-diary/id6745115075 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Darby Tarlow](https://appshunter.io/developer/1810836939) - Category: Productivity, Lifestyle - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 37 App Store ratings · 8 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.1 · 336 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2025-10-10 - Data updated: 2026-10-08 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opal-guided-journal-and-diary/id6745115075/reviews.md ## What is Opal? Opal is a guided journal and diary to delve deeper: why you react the way you do, what you actually want, what your dreams keep trying to show you. Pick a guide from a large free library, follow a ten day series, or open a blank page and write whatever is on your mind. A FREE LIBRARY OF GUIDES Browse guides on finding clarity, purpose and direction, relationships, attachment styles, limiting beliefs, Stoic philosophy, gratitude, and more. Each guide walks you through a sequence of questions, with an example answer beside every prompt so you always have somewhere to begin. TEN DAY SERIES When you want a longer practice, start a series. Shadow Work spends ten days with the parts of yourself you usually avoid, from the inner critic to the golden shadow. Deep Manifest helps you name the desire underneath the goals you keep setting. The Dreaming Life teaches you to record your dreams and follow the figures and images that keep returning. A new day appears on your home screen each morning, and each one builds on what you wrote before. GUIDED AUDIO JOURNALING Some pages open with a short recorded practice. Press play, close your eyes, and let a memory or an image surface. When the audio ends, write about what came up and where you felt it in your body. Ambient soundscapes are there too, for when you want rain or low tones behind your writing. WRITE YOUR WAY Type, talk, or write by hand. Voice entries are saved as tapes you can replay, each with a transcript you can read back. Add photos to any entry, and keep separate journals for the different threads of your life. CONNECT DOTS ACROSS TIME Opal reads across your entries and shows you what it finds: recurring themes, emotional patterns, relationship dynamics, dream symbols. Each week, month, and year it assembles a reflection drawn from your own words, shows you the passages it relied on, and keeps it in your archive. You can also ask your journal a question and get an answer grounded in what you actually wrote. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your writing is stored on your device. No account required, no cloud sync by default, no data sold. Lock Opal with a password. When you use an AI feature, names, places, and other identifying details are masked on your phone before anything is sent, and you decide how much context is shared. Your entries are never used to train AI models. Export or delete them whenever you like. ENDORSED BY THERAPISTS "Opal encourages deep self-expression and deep self-acceptance while also giving tools for change." Leanne Domash, Ph.D., Psychologist and Author Opal is free to download, with a free library of guides. Opal Premium unlocks [premium features]. Start with one prompt tonight. Questions: opaljournal@gmail.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ## Key features - AI-powered pattern analysis - Guided journaling journeys - Voice and image entry support - Multiple journal organization - On-device privacy controls - Prompt-based or blank page entries ## Recent user reviews (8 of 8) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opal-guided-journal-and-diary/id6745115075/reviews.md ### 5/5 — I finally found the one! *2026-05-13* I’ve tried so many journal apps and Murmur is amazing. The prompts are inspiring and keep me engaged with writing. The guides are thorough and help me dive deeper. The insights are great and I love the visualization tool and the burn it page. I look forward to working through more of the guides. **Developer response:** Aw thank you so much for taking the time to review us! It means the world. Your feedback makes this all so worthwhile, and we have so much more to come! Including more in-depth guides, better memory, and affirmations. Thank you for being on this journey with us. Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — The Best App for Personal Growth *2026-05-03* I definitely would recommend this app to anyone looking to write all their thoughts down. I personally find the functions in the app to not only be helpful but also motivating. To be able to have an app that’s easy to navigate and to also push you to share your inner thoughts with yourself is hard to find. I find that if you download this app it will literally make your life better instantly because you are no longer just having a journal you are having a personalized Biopic for yourself. Highly recommend to anyone. One of the best apps on the iOS Store. **Developer response:** Gosh, thank you so much for being part of this. Your support means everything!! Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — Amazing UX and Design *2026-03-01* Man, this has such flavor! The 3 eyed kitty is adorable. Love everything about this. Thank you. 🙏 **Developer response:** Aw thank you so much for your support!!! Much much more flavor and journaling goodness to come! Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — Beautiful journaling app *2026-02-08* Love the aesthetic **Developer response:** Your support means the world! Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — Just beautifully made *2026-01-26* Love every single aspect of This app would love to be able to have a calendar and date my own entries. But I love the app overall. **Developer response:** Hi there! Wow this fills my cup and I'm so happy you're getting good use out of Opal! I love this suggestion! So if you tap the moon on the home screen, you can get a calendar of the days journaled (your moons that you've collected). I'll add a way to edit the date, and view the entries from the calendar. Thank you so much for the feedback! If you had any more thoughts or suggestions around the calendar feature (or anything else), I'd love to hear them! The discord community is great place to connect and share (find it in home - profile icon - under "Grow with Us"), or you can always reach me via email! Happy journaling! ;D Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — Beautifully designed app *2025-10-13* My favorite journaling app! Lots of nifty features but also simple to use. And it just looks really nice ofc **Developer response:** Hello Stanley, May all your days of writing be plentiful, sweet, and fruitful! You are a star. Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — Murmur is a beautiful and well designed app! *2025-10-10* Murmur has such a unique set style, it is an app like no other. Murmur is all about helping you examine your life and grow. It’s also completely free! I would highly recommend if you are interested in going on a journey of self growth. **Developer response:** Hello there, Thank you so much for your thoughtful review and kind words. It means the world!! Happy journaling! Warmly, Darby ### 5/5 — Amazing App for Therapy *2025-10-10* I have been using this for awhile now. Over time if you choose to use the AI part of the app it makes therapeutic suggestions that are simply amazing and for me life changing. I got life changing useful suggestions and insights from an app! All while having 100% privacy, important to me. Once I set up my journal and got in the habit of entering, my journal started to life coach me. I highly recommend this app. Murmur is amazing! **Developer response:** Hello there, Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review for Opal! As an indie developer, it sincerely means the world. Your words validate why we set out upon this quest! Much more to come, and thank you for your ongoing support! Warmly, Darby ## Frequently asked questions about Opal ### What is Murmur? Murmur is a private journaling app designed to help users understand their thoughts and emotions through writing, AI reflections, and guided prompts. It emphasizes privacy by storing data on the device. ### How does Murmur use AI? Murmur's AI tools analyze your journal entries to identify recurring emotions, cognitive distortions, relationship dynamics, and dream themes. This helps surface patterns your conscious mind might miss. ### Is Murmur free to use? Yes, Murmur is available for free. The app does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements, offering a completely free experience. ### What kind of content can I add to Murmur? You can write text entries, record voice notes, or add photos to your journal. Murmur supports multiple ways to capture your thoughts and moments. ### How does Murmur protect my privacy? Murmur is built around privacy with no account required and no cloud sync by default. Your data lives on your device, and identifying details are masked before AI processing. Your data is never used for training. ### Can I organize my entries in Murmur? Yes, you can organize entries across multiple journals within Murmur. This allows you to keep different aspects of your life separate and focused. ### What are the guided journeys in Murmur? Guided journeys are multi-day programs in Murmur that build on themes like manifesting, shadow work, dream journaling, and creativity. Each day's prompt is designed to compound your practice over time. ### What devices is Murmur available on? Murmur is available on iPhone and iPad devices, indicated by its compatibility with iOS. The app is rated for ages 4 and up. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.79 — 2026-09-25 Some small performance updates and UX cleanup. Warmly, Darby ### 1.78 — 2026-09-22 Hello Opalites, It's been a while since I've pushed an update. I hope your summer came to a slow, cozy close wherever in the world you are. This is the biggest update Opal has had, and it arrives with a change: Opal now has a premium subscription. WHAT'S NEW - Journal memory. Opal can now hold on to the people, places, and themes in your writing, so its reflections draw on your whole history instead of a single entry. - Your context, in your hands. See what Opal has learned, edit it, and decide what gets shared with AI features. - Ask Anything. Ask your journal a question and get an answer drawn from your own entries. - Weekly and monthly reflections, kept in a new archive. - Audio prompts. Short guided practices you listen to before you write. - Ten day series on shadow work, manifesting, and dreams. WHAT STAYS FREE Your journals and your entries, always. Your writing is yours. Voice journaling stays free, and so does the vast majority of the guide library, including the growing collection of online guides. My hope is that whether or not you ever pay for Opal, you find enrichment, intrigue, and joy in journaling here. I've been covering the AI costs out of my own pocket for more than a year now, and it's time to restructure things so Opal can keep going and my mom can stop worrying about me. Some of this is brand new and I'll keep refining it over the coming weeks. If something feels off, or you have a question or an idea, write to me at opaljournal@gmail.com. I love hearing from you. With love, Darby ### 1.77 — 2026-06-22 Hello Journalers, TOO MANY exciting updates for you in this one!! (I really should get more of a life...but alas) (1) Affirmations on your home screen (you can toggle these off in settings). You can also customize your own by long-pressing on the open affirmation card. (2) Moons: Now you can see upcoming big moons in your moon calendar! Date and time based on your geography for new, full, and quarter moons. (3) Meditations: Go deeper with your journaling with a pre-journaling meditation. (You can toggle this off and on in settings). (4) Scan your writing: Love the feel of pen and paper? Me too. Now you can get all of the prompts, guides, and analysis of Opal but still without losing the act of writing. (5) There's a new journaling paradigm I think you may love...especially if you enjoy voice journaling or prefer the feel of pen and paper. I'm calling it 'writing modes'. Basically when you open an entry you can either have a focused typing mode, voice, or writing flow (where you scan all your writing at the end to digitize and get an analysis). You should see it anywhere you write in Opal -- save & some tools have shifted around a little, but I'm hoping it's all more intuitive! Would love your feedback! Do you like it, do you hate it? Any feedback is super welcome. Send an email or join our Discord. I love to hear from you. As always, enormously grateful you're on this journey with me. Many, many more things to come. Warmly, Darby ### 1.76 — 2026-05-31 Hello Journalers, Just performance updates and bug fixes on this one. But many good things cooking in the lab! Warmly, Darby ### 1.75 — 2026-05-29 Hello journalers, The world of journal prompts just got so much bigger and richer. Our online library of in-depth articles and journal guides is LIVE! *cue celebratory horn section* Which means you can now open fresh inspiration from our website right in your app, seamlessly. Works best on a safari browser. Totally free (of course). 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User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-08.*