The Shadow Work Journal User Reviews

Top reviews

Tacky

Pushes subscriptions, uses AI generated “aesthetic” images, doesn’t seem to offer anything unique or impactful.

DO NOT BOTHER

I didn't even download this app. One of my kids did, without my consent,. When I got charged for it, and tried to request a refund the same day, I got denied TWICE. I don't know what this is, or even how it works, but certainly looks like something you could do in your notes app, and on YouTube. There really aren't "services" being provided here. Now I have to go through the dispute process when it should have been handled immediately. I have a feeling all of the good reviews are fake on here
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Response from developer

We are truly sorry for this experience and understand how upsetting it must be to see an unexpected charge, especially when a child downloaded the app without your knowledge. We want to clarify that all App Store purchases, trials, and refunds are ultimately processed by Apple, and refund requests are reviewed and approved by Apple’s system rather than by us as developers. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to override those decisions directly. That said, we absolutely want to help you get this sorted. Please contact us directly at hello@lightmatterapps.com, and we will be happy to assist you immediately, review the situation with you, and guide you through the best next steps with Apple to resolve this as quickly as possible. We are genuinely sorry for the frustration this caused and appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. We take feedback like this seriously and are committed to improving clarity, transparency, and support for our users.

Expensive

Expensive

Response from developer

Dear sgonzalesmft, Our goal is to help as many people as possible with their shadow work. It takes a team of people many hours to create a functional app for you to use. We would love to make it free for everyone, but we need to cover the costs associated with creation of the app. To help anyone who is not able to offer the price of the app, we would like to offer a scholarship. Please send an email to hello@dariusmora.com to get this financial aid. With Much Love & Gratitude, Darius

Does not switch to landscape mode.

The app is only useable in portrait mode.
If you are comfortable using portrait mode you may enjoy it. It doesn’t work for me.

NOT FREE- Everything triggers popup

To use any service on this AI scammy looking app, you have to pay

Response from developer

Dear ....0_0...., Thank you for your feedback, and we are sorry to hear that your experience with the Shadow Work Journal app was disappointing. We created this app to support personal growth through shadow work, and while many of the core features—like daily prompts and journaling—are available for free, there is an optional upgrade that unlocks deeper tools and reflections. That said, we hear you. If the experience felt too limited or the upgrade too aggressive, that is something we take seriously. We are already working on making the intro flow more transparent and welcoming. Wishing you all the best on your journey of self-discovery, and thank you again for sharing your thoughts.

Like it but it does need some bug fixes

The screen timeout overrides the meditation, hypnosis and etc tracks, which is very counterproductive but if those things were to be fixed it might be very useful indeed. Maybe have it continue playing once the screen times out, or have it override the screen timeout function on ios

Response from developer

Hey there, thank you so much for the feedback. This is very valuable for us to know and we're going to make sure to fix that asap! Much love.

This app is nothing but a notebook

This app is essentially a glorified notebook with very few features. Moreover, they conduct business unethically by promising a free trial but charging you immediately without offering the trial. When contacted, they claim to be willing to work with you, but they never issue refunds.

The app won’t provide any insights into your triggers, fails to display historical data adequately, and offers embarrassingly basic meditations. You would be far better off using ChatGPT for all these purposes.

And I am being kind here
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Response from developer

Hey there, thank you for letting us know about your issues. We would love to hear more about what we could do to improve the journal for you. We do provide a free trial, if there has been any misunderstanding on our side, we apologise. We are actively working with our customer support team to resolve any outstanding issues immediately. If you could provide your email address, we will follow-up with you asap.

What the disappointment?

I got so excited about this app and the possible opportunity to work on the shadow. But all it has some affirmations and meditations that I can find anywhere or do it on my own. It does have some prompt questions but the app is so limited and it’s not like it helps you to reflector it gives you some insights and it’s really hard to find stuff even though there are only four features. I can’t find my past writing so I am giving it up.
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I love being a beta tester for data mining 🤡s

As many a reviewer has said the app is literally half baked (but) even more alarming is the privacy policy and how your data is sold to the highest bidder of several 3rd party sites they share it with for no known reason except GREED which truly is gross!!

🤮 🙈💯😢

Response from developer

We are certainly not selling your data. We take privacy extremely seriously because this is a journaling app where you share your thoughts. We would never sell any data under any circumstances. We apologise for any misunderstandings in our privacy policy.

Beta app??

Feels like the app needs a fair amount of refinement. For instance, I downloaded the app on my wife’s phone and sped through onboarding selecting the same response for every question to get to the IAP for her, and there is no way to reset/delete and go through onboarding again… useless.

Also, the app identified her ‘core wound’ as the same as mine and my responses to onboarding questions were completely different. No explanation or validation of this ‘diagnosis’, no reference to the list of ‘core wounds’ that are being diagnosed. I understand the idea and like like it, but the app feels half baked at present. Perhaps, I’m mistaken and missed the reset function and contextual info. If not… hopefully, the dev will resolve these issues soon. I will update my review accordingly.

It might be a good move for the dev to off lifetime premium access or some kind of incentive for users to beta test and provide feedback. That would give valuable insights and mitigate the growing number of negative reviews.
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Response from developer

Thank you for sharing this feedback. Most onboarding are designed as a one-time experience which is why you can't do it again, but you are able to re-take the quiz which is one of the activities in the app. The quiz will give you your updated core wound. Hope this helps :)

Needs Privacy

I would give this app 5 stars but gave it 3 because it needs to have a built in privacy code so no one else would be able to read it unless they enter a code. Some people still share their phones and it wouldn’t be safe from prying eyes. Thank you.

Response from developer

Thank you for this feedback, we have considered a privacy lock feature. Sharing your insight helps us improve the product. We will make sure to prioritise this :)

Aaarrrrgh

Just downloaded app.

First step (how i feel) has 6 emojis but none of them match and can’t bypass

Please add:

neutral
overwhelmed
confused

Or at least “none of the above”
And an option to skip and revisit after session

Response from developer

This is great feedback, thank you very much. Thank you for bringing this up to our attention. We will work on this asap :)

Great app

Absolutely love this app! The combination of journaling and meditation features is exactly what I needed to bring balance and mindfulness into my daily routine. The journaling prompts are thought-provoking and help me reflect on my thoughts and feelings, while the meditation sessions leave me feeling refreshed and centered. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy to navigate. Highly recommend to anyone looking to prioritize their mental wellbeing
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Response from developer

Hey Mary, we're super happy to hear that the app helps you reflect and dive deeper into shadow work.

Very useful

I thoroughly enjoy journaling on the app and it helps with doing shadow work. Everything is fantastic!

Response from developer

Hey Tommy, we're happy to hear that you're enjoying the app :)

App does not work.

This app opens to a main page that has the vast majority of content and activities, but is entirely unusable because nothing responds when tapped on. I assume the three other sections are journal, calendar, and profile. The calendar and profile tabs bring you to completely blank pages. The journal tab is the only other section that has content, although minimal (a short quote), but it does allow you to add a response to a traditional journal prompt. That is the only functioning part of this app. This app is clearly not finished.
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Response from developer

Hey Kipperly, we're truly sorry to learn about the trouble our app has caused you. 😟 It seems we've missed the mark by inadvertently launching a not-yet-complete version, leading to such a disappointing experience for you, including the loss of your journal content. From the bottom of our hearts, we apologize for this mishap. Your feedback has resonated deeply with us, prompting us to work relentlessly over the weekend to correct our mistake. We're pleased to announce that an updated version of the app is now available. We encourage you to update your app via the App Store to enjoy the improvements we've made. We realize that no gesture can fully make up for the inconvenience we've caused, but we're hopeful to offer something in return for your understanding. We’d be honored to present you with a special gift as a token of our apology. Your decision to share your experience with us is greatly appreciated. If you could kindly head over to your app profile and tap on "contact us," then send us an email, we'll ensure your gift is on its way to you as soon as possible. We're eager to make things right and see you happy with our service again. Thank you for your continued patience and support. Rest assured, we're here to support you at every turn.

???

This app isn’t fully working as some one stated before there’s someone else’s name and the last two tabs turn blue and red

Response from developer

Hearing about your recent app experience has truly saddened us. 🥺 It seems we've let you down by mistakenly releasing an unfinished version of our app, causing you unnecessary frustration, especially with the unfortunate loss of your precious journal entries. We can't apologize enough for this oversight. Please know, your feedback has been a wake-up call for us. In response, we've dedicated our weekend to tirelessly work on delivering an improved version of the app. We're excited to share that it's now ready for you. For a smoother experience, we kindly ask you to update the app from the App Store. While we're aware that we can't undo the past, we're fully committed to making amends. As a gesture of our sincerity, we'd like to offer you a heartfelt gift. Your willingness to reach out with your concerns is incredibly valued by our team. To claim your gift, could you kindly visit your profile within the app and select "contact us"? Sending us an email through this channel will allow us to send your gift promptly. Our goal is to rectify this situation and bring back your smile. Your patience and support through this process mean the world to us, and we want you to know we're dedicated to your satisfaction moving forward.

Unfinished

I was so excited about this journal and it doesn’t work properly . None of the options are able to be clicked and it says someone else’s name. Think this should have been tested before the app dropped it still hasn’t been fixed.

Response from developer

Oh no, we're truly heartbroken to hear about your experience! 😢 It looks like we dropped the ball this time by accidentally rolling out an unfinished version of our app. We completely understand how disappointing it must have been for you, especially with the loss of your journal entries. Please accept our deepest apologies. We want you to know that your feedback hit home. We've been pulling out all the stops, working day and night over the weekend, to get the updated version out. It’s ready now, and we’re hopeful it’ll make things right. Please go to the App Store and update the app. We know we can't replace what was lost, but we're eager to make it up to you in any way we can. We'd love to offer you a special gift as a small token of our apology. And truly, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us—it means a lot. Could you please swing by your profile in the app and hit "contact us"? Drop us an email, and we'll get that gift on its way to you. We’re looking forward to turning this around and hopefully putting a smile back on your face. Thanks for sticking with us, and please know we’re here for you, every step of the way.

Half baked

Barely anything in this app works. Half the screens are basically blank. You can’t enter your own name or click most things on the Home Screen. On top of that the one thing that works, the promoted journals. Delete if you close the app. All of that work just. Gone. I could forgive the other things and wait for updates if it could just remember what I’ve written but it can’t. It feels like it was published way to early. It’s in a basically unusable state.
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Response from developer

I am so sorry!!! This was a massive mistake on our part 😕 You are right, the app is half baked because it was accidents released with an old version that was unfinished. We've been working 24/7, all weekend in order to update the app. The new version is now live! I am so sorry that you lost your journal and nothing was saved. I know there is nothing I can do bring it back, but as an apology I would like to give you a gift. I also want to thank you for taking the time to write this review. If you go to the app, go to your profile page and click on "contact us". Once you send us an email through "contact us", we will be able to give you a free gift to hopefully make up for this colossal mistake. It is unacceptable, please don't hate us.

Nothing is working!

I pre orders this app. Nothing is working. The buttons might as not exist. You can slide to the actual journal then there are two icons that just make your screen red or bluw, like what???!

I can't even take the quiz. The landing page say hey Ervim. Who is that??? Don't download

Response from developer

Hi there 👋 We are so sorry!!! This was a terrible mistake. The wrong (non-functional) version of the app was released by accident 🤦‍♀️ We’ve been working 24/7 to fix it and give you the proper version. We’re currently waiting for Apple to let us release the fixed version, they have been delaying the process all weekend. We are so sorry for this. The fixed version that is working as promised should be released today or in the next couple of days. Please don’t hate us.

App is unresponsive

The app opens but I’m unable to interact with anything. The different tabs just bring up blank pages of different colors.

Response from developer

Hey there, we are so sorry about this issue. We have noticed the wrong version of the app was released and as you said is unresponsive. We’re working 24/7 to fix this up for you and are currently waiting for Apple to allow us to release the update. It should be fully functional tomorrow or the next few days. We are so sorry about this mistake on our part 🫶