Comparison

Personal Diary (Journal) App vs Lock Keeper

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Personal Diary (Journal) App

This app provides a simple and secure digital space for journaling. It offers passcode and biometric protection, iCloud sync across devices, and the ability to add photos, moods, and weather to your entries. It's designed to be an accessible and ad-free journalling experience.

Highlights
  • Passcode & biometric protection
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Import photos into entries
  • Set mood and weather
  • Daily writing reminders
  • VoiceOver support
  • Dark Mode
Features
Read full description

"When all you want is the digital equivalent of a paper diary, this is the perfect one." - goyyboy "Loving the lighthearted feel of this deceptively powerful app." - plinkplok "Good and accessible with VoiceOver" - Allan.summers Need a simple, free, and easy-to-use journalling app? Meet Personal Diary! With no advertisements, limitations, nor any upfront cost, Personal Diary is your simplest and best journalling tool yet. Easily access all your entries in all your devices with iCloud Sync. Write diary entries without worrying that someone will peek at what you wrote, with passcode & biometric protection. Forgot about your diary? The app can 'summon' you back with a friendly nudge. You can also import as many photos as you wish into your entries. As an optional addition, you can set your mood, and add weather and tags to an entry. Notable Features: - Numeric passcode lock (any number of digits). - Unlock using Touch ID or Face ID on supported devices. - Auto-saves as you type. - Simple & easy to use. - Sync data between devices via iCloud Drive. - Ability to pick a mood and weather of the day. - Mood & weather can be automatically chosen. - Import photos to your entries. - Select a theme to suit your style. - Dark Mode for better night use. - VoiceOver fully supported. - Simple Rich Text editing supported. - Optimized for multitasking on iPad. - Full support for physical keyboards, trackpad, and mice. - watchOS keyboard support on Series 7+, and FlickType keyboard support for legacy watch models. - Fully compatible with all modern iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch* models. - Daily notifications for writing in your diary. - No advertisements & absolutely FREE! :D *Some features may not be available on the Apple Watch. Primary editing and viewing functions, such as the Timeline interface and entry editor, are available on the watch. Don't forget to let me know what you think of Personal Diary by leaving a review on the App Store! Reviews and ratings help and let other users find this app. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to send a feedback; I might be able to help! :) Warning: - Please do not forget your password. If you forget your password and your identity cannot be verified, you may not be able to access your data. This app allows you to tip/donate to directly support the development of this app through in-app purchases. No new features will be provided when you tip, it's just to support the app's development if you would like to. Selecting a Small/Medium/Large Tip will initiate a one-time payment for tipping. A Continuous Tip is an automatic-renewal subscription to tip every month, and will renew automatically every month unless it's turned off or cancelled (through your account settings) at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. For this, your Apple account will be charged when payment is confirmed, and charged for auto-renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the selected price. You may locate our terms at https://legal.wern.cc/app/terms and privacy policy at https://legal.wern.cc/app/privacy.

About

Lock Keeper

Control your HomeKit compatible door locks from your Apple Watch and iPhone. Features an intuitive interface designed to prevent accidental locking or unlocking, with clear visual status updates on your watch face.

Highlights
  • Control HomeKit door locks
  • Apple Watch complications for status
  • Intuitive interface to prevent accidental use
  • Supports August, Yale, Schlage, and Weiser locks
  • Lock/unlock via touch and hold or digital crown
  • Privacy-focused, no data collection
Features
Read full description

Lock Keeper lets you control all your HomeKit compatible door locks with confidence, and see their status on the Apple Watch complications. The app has a refined and intuitive interface, that requires clear intent to operate the lock, and prevents accidental door locking and unlocking. The app can control the door locks once they've been added to your HomeKit setup using the Apple's Home app on iOS, or the door lock maker's iOS app. Some of the supported door locks: - August Wi-Fi Smart Lock, Smart Lock, and Smart Lock Pro - Yale Assure - Schlage Sense - Weiser Premis • Touch and hold on the lock in the watch app to lock and unlock your door. • You can also spin the digital crown to lock and unlock. • Touch and hold time span, and the digital crown travel are calibrated to prevent the accidental door locking and unlocking. • The watch face complication status will not update in the background, but it will update any time you use the app, so you will have a visible reminder that the door is locked, as long as you use this app to operate the lock. • If you have multiple locks, swipe left and right to navigate to them. While the app's minimalist looks betray the simplicity of its operation, what they don't show is the amount of planning, design, development and refinement that went into it, ensuring it becomes something that is enjoyable to use and experience. Lock Watch does not collect any of your data. Your lock status and activity never leaves the Apple ecosystem. Author of Lock Watch does not receive any information from this app, at any point.

Screenshots

Personal Diary (Journal) App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Personal Diary (Journal) App at 87% against Lock Keeper's 0%. Personal Diary (Journal) App also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 37 months). Lock Keeper's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Personal Diary (Journal) App is free to download; Lock Keeper costs $0.99 up front. Personal Diary (Journal) App sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Lock Keeper asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Personal Diary (Journal) App ships an update every 5 weeks, Lock Keeper every 37 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Personal Diary (Journal) App versus Lock Keeper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPersonal Diary (Journal) AppLock Keeper
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.4 (106 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings106 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 37 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWern Jie LimMarko Radakovic

Customer experience

Personal Diary (Journal) App

All ratings104 ratings
Positive82.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews183 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative7.7%

Lock Keeper

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Personal Diary (Journal) App

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Entries sometimes disappear or fail to load
  • Passcode/Touch ID not working reliably
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Unexpected crashes when opening the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to password protect individual entries
  • Implement calendar view for better navigation
  • Allow adding videos and other media types
  • Improve search capabilities with advanced filters
  • Provide better data backup and export options

Lock Keeper

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Personal Diary (Journal) App

Subscriptions1
  • Continuous Tip$1.991 Month
One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
None

Lock Keeper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Personal Diary (Journal) App free?
Personal Diary (Journal) App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lock Keeper free?
Lock Keeper costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Personal Diary (Journal) App or Lock Keeper have ads?
Neither Personal Diary (Journal) App nor Lock Keeper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Personal Diary (Journal) App or Lock Keeper?
Personal Diary (Journal) App ships an update every 5 weeks, and Lock Keeper every 37 months. Most recently, Personal Diary (Journal) App was updated on November 2, 2026 and Lock Keeper on November 3, 2026.

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