# Penzu — Secure Diary & Private Journal

> Secure, private digital diary and notepad with cloud sync and encryption. (iPhone/iPad app by Penzu Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penzu/id452674732 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Penzu Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/452674735)
- Category: Productivity, Lifestyle
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.20/5 from 2,524 App Store ratings · 428 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 9+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 62 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-09-14
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penzu/id452674732/reviews.md

## What is Penzu?

*Used by over 1 million people around the world
*Best free journal in any app store
*Syncs to the web and other mobile platforms for free

Penzu is the most popular free diary, journal and notepad. It’s the best place to keep your most private thoughts safe and secure.   Sync your journals to Penzu where your notes are accessible from almost any device in the world. So simple and fun that you’ll leave your paper diary behind!

FEATURES

*Unlimited journaling
*Sync journals with Penzu cloud for free
*Customize your journal covers
*Lock journals with a password
*Encrypt your journals
*Add photos
*Lock app with a PIN
*Search journals
*Add tags
*Write offline
and more...

WHY PENZU?

Penzu is a diary and personal journal that is focused on privacy. With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper.


PRIVACY

Your journal and your thoughts aren’t always meant to be shared — some things are supposed to be private! Use Penzu to jot down whatever you want. Then lock your journal with a password (or even encryption) so no one can read it but you! Furthermore, you can lock the entire app with a PIN in the event that someone gets access to your mobile device.


PENZU

Unlike other journal apps, Penzu has a web-based counterpart. So you can access your journals and diary from any web browser and other devices. Penzu is constantly being updated and improved so that the writing experience is effortless and reliable.


SUBSCRIPTION INFO

This app is free to download but requires a free Penzu account in order to start writing.

Upgrading to Penzu Pro is available for a small monthly or yearly subscription. Your subscription will auto-renew unless you cancel manually. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 USD and renew every month. Yearly subscriptions are $19.99 USD and renew every year.

You can see our privacy policy here: http://penzu.com/m/privacy
You can read our terms of use here: http://penzu.com/m/terms

## Key features

- Unlimited journaling
- Cloud sync for free
- Password and PIN locks
- Journal encryption
- Add photos to entries
- Search and tag entries
- Offline writing

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Penzu Pro Subscription | $19.99 | per year |
| Penzu Pro Subscription | $4.99 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Penzu Pro Upgrade | $18.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Penzu?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 📝 Convenient journaling on the go
- 🗓️ Helpful reminders and date tracking
- 💻 Syncs across devices

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔑 Password issues and lockout problems
- 📁 Syncing and data loss issues
- 📱 Limited functionality on mobile app
- 💰 Expensive premium subscription

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Keyboard disappearing during use
- Entries not saving or syncing properly
- Inability to access account after updates

**Most requested features**

- More customization options for fonts, themes, and layouts
- Ability to export/backup journal entries
- Improved mobile app stability and features
- Better customer support and communication

## Recent user reviews (10 of 428)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penzu/id452674732/reviews.md

### 2/5 — App is unusable for me

*2026-08-20, version 3.20*

I like Penzu, but the app has been unusable for me. I usually switch between writing entries on my laptop and my iPhone, and up till last year I didn’t encounter issues with that setup (with just a few occasional glitches that support could help out with). But for some reason I can’t sync Penzu on my phone anymore. Photos I upload from my phone into entries don’t save. The app is honestly infuriating. I’ve contacted support several times but I don’t even think they understand the issue. I have so many entries on Penzu, but not sure if I should stick with it any longer.

### 4/5 — Easy and focused

*2026-08-17, version 3.20*

I love there is a desktop version and app so I can write in both places. Also that there is a functional journalling that doesn’t cost. The setup is simplified and streamlined layout, helping to not overwhelm my head.

### 5/5 — Please add a dark mode

*2026-08-06, version 3.20*

Love this app, been using it for years and my only issue is that even with my brightness on the lowest setting with night shift on to tint the blue light into warm: opening the app at night in a dark room feels like setting off the white hot intensity of a thousand suns straight into my corneas 😵‍💫

Other than that love the application and can’t find any other qualms

### 1/5 — Really upset with the sync issue

*2026-08-03, version 3.20*

I’ve normally been loving this app. It’s free, you can access it on your phone app as well as the web, and it syncs.

However!! I don’t know what happened. I’ve mostly been using the web version, but I was in bed, so I wanted to add something I thought of using the phone app. The phone app had not been syncing. Today, I finally remember while on my computer, and I noticed it synced the web version to whatever was on the phone app a missing MONTHS of an entry I’ve been working as a recap to myself to read on my birthday. Additionally, I am pregnant with my first, so it had a lot of updates about all things baby, and I am just really upset that I lost all of those updates to myself.

If anyone at all still checks the comments and updates the app, PLEASE reach out, so I can recover the rest of the entry.

### 1/5 — Pro isn’t worth it

*2026-07-29, version 3.20*

When you subscribe to pro the only feature you get is changing the background colour. It’s utterly useless. You still can’t do full screen editing, you don’t get version history (which is terrible because your entries disappear all the time), and half the buttons in the UI ask you for more money. It’s a greedy little app that basically takes your money and gives you nothing.

### 1/5 — Weird

*2026-07-29, version 3.20*

So secure that you can't login or sign up. And don't go further human verification

### 1/5 — Help

*2026-07-22, version 3.20*

I’ve issued this all to write my book and been using for over 10
Years. Now
I can’t log into
It and they won’t let me
Change my
Code

### 5/5 — Love this app

*2026-06-26, version 3.20*

I’ve used Penzu for years and couldn’t be without it. I use the app and use it on my laptop too. It’s really easy to use, to create separate journals, and I love that it is private and customer support is really good too.

### 5/5 — Love it

*2026-06-17, version 3.20*

Awesome tool to keep track of your writing.

### 5/5 — Best ever

*2026-06-12, version 3.20*

Been using this platform for nearly 10 years. It has helped me move through some of my deepest healing moments

## Frequently asked questions about Penzu

### What is Penzu?

Penzu is a popular free diary, journal, and notepad application designed to keep your private thoughts safe and secure. It allows you to write entries, sync them across devices via the Penzu cloud, and offers various security features to protect your personal information.

### What are the key features of Penzu?

Key features include unlimited journaling, free cloud syncing, customizable journal covers, password and encryption locks for journals, the ability to add photos, app-level PIN lock, search functionality, tagging, and offline writing capabilities.

### How much does Penzu cost?

The app is free to download and use with a free Penzu account. Optional upgrades to Penzu Pro are available via a monthly subscription ($4.99 USD) or a yearly subscription ($19.99 USD) for enhanced features. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled.

### Is Penzu available on multiple platforms?

Yes, Penzu syncs to the web and other mobile platforms for free. This means you can access your journals and diary from any web browser and other devices, ensuring your notes are always accessible.

### How does Penzu ensure privacy and security?

Penzu prioritizes privacy by allowing you to lock your journals with a password or encryption, ensuring only you can read them. Additionally, you can lock the entire app with a PIN to prevent unauthorized access to your device.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.20 — 2026-05-05

Fixes a bug with journal sorting for users with multiple journals so that the latest journal updated is always first.

Fixes a crash some users were experiencing when tapping on links into the app or push notifications.

### 3.19 — 2026-04-28

Improved authentication system to extend active sessions rather than automatically logging you out, while supporting a more hardened authentication token rotation system.

Fixes a number of crashes and app hangs related to background sync interactions with the main thread.

Fixes a number of crashes and hangs specifically on iPad when switching between landscape and portrait modes, and toggling accessibility features.

### 3.18 — 2026-04-14

This version is focused on stability, security, and bug fixes.

Several internal systems were upgraded, modernized, and migrated to the latest Apple standards.

Version also addresses crashes some users may have experienced when locking a journal or navigating rapidly between entries.

### 3.17 — 2026-03-21

Fixes a bug that was preventing some iPad users from editing their previous entries.

### 3.16 — 2026-03-13

A number of bug fixes and stability improvements for iPad users including:
- keyboard not appearing on entry, or unable to type in entry body
- app displays too large for iPad viewport
- auto-scrolling issues in portrait mode when navigating between entries
- photo picker not always appearing when tapped
- custom journal cover photo selection not working

Release also improves sync functionality and date handling for users with non-Gregorian calendars.

## Apps similar to Penzu

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Standard Notes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/standard-notes/id1285392450) | 4.7 (3,696) | Free | Productivity |
| [Diary With Password](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-with-password/id1252208166) | 4.7 (26,923) | Free | Productivity |
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| [everyday - Habit Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/everyday-habit-tracker/id1394150432) | 4.7 (4,500) | Free | Productivity |
| [Habitica: Gamified Taskmanager](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/habitica-gamified-taskmanager/id994882113) | 4.2 (3,154) | Free | Productivity |
| [Minimalist Journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimalist-journal/id6443493135) | 4.2 (227) | Free | Productivity |

## More apps by Penzu Inc.

- [Mirror: Transform Emotions](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mirror-transform-emotions/id6479201663)

All apps by Penzu Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/452674735

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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 2026-08-24.*