# Opal: Journal & Private Diary — Dream • Manifest • Shadow Work > 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-journal-and-private-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 28 App Store ratings · 8 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.1 · 317 MB - Languages: English - Released: 2025-10-10 - Data updated: 2026-08-01 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opal-journal-and-private-diary/id6745115075/reviews.md ## What is Opal? Your thoughts deserve a quiet place to land. Opal is a private journaling app built around one idea: the more you write, the more you understand. With thoughtful prompts, ambient soundscapes, and AI reflections, it turns a blank page into a mirror. Write your way: Start from a prompt or a blank page. Type, speak, or add photos. Opal supports voice journaling and image entries so you can capture a thought, a moment, or a feeling however it comes to you. Organize entries across multiple journals to keep different threads of your life separate. Go deeper with guided journeys: Follow multi-day programs that build one prompt at a time around themes that matter to you. Explore manifesting and intention-setting, shadow work and unconscious patterns, dream journaling and interpretation, creativity and self-expression, and relationship dynamics. Each day's prompt builds on the last, creating a practice that compounds over weeks. See what you can't see alone: AI tools surface patterns across your entries. Recurring emotions, cognitive distortions, relationship dynamics, and dream themes. Murmur highlights what your conscious mind might miss, then gets out of the way. Built around privacy: Your entries live on your device. No account required, no cloud sync by default, no data sold. When you use AI features, names, locations, and identifying details are masked before anything leaves your phone. Your data is never used for training. Export or delete entries at any time. Start writing. Start noticing. ## 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-journal-and-private-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) ### 1.77 — 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 ### 1.74 — 2026-05-23 Hello Journalers, Exciting news: the new site is live! journalwithopal.com It's home to a growing library of articles on shadow work, dream journaling, manifesting, and more. Each one comes with its own guided journaling companion for Opal, so you can go deeper on whatever catches your eye. You can also find a shortcut to the library within the Guides tab in Opal. If you're looking for fresh inspiration, start there. Would love to hear what resonates with you. Warmly, Darby ### 1.72 — 2026-05-04 Hello Journalers, - Writing just got focused mode. - "Dive Deeper" is now in your writing experience to delve into your writing while you write. - Insights are now more beautiful and intuitive. Many more exciting updates to come! Thank you everyone who's reached out with feedback, it's hugely impactful! Onwards, Darby ### 1.70 — 2026-03-19 Just general performance and bug fixes for this one. More big things to come. Happy journaling! Warmly, Darby --- *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 2026-08-01.*