Comparison

Personal Diary (Journal) App vs Private diary

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

Private diary

A private digital journal to securely record your thoughts and memories. Track your daily mood with a variety of emojis and access your entries offline. Protect your personal reflections with a password.

Highlights
  • Password protection
  • Mood tracking with emojis
  • Offline note editing
  • Secure memory keeping
Features
Read full description

Diary - keep the moments and thoughts dear to your heart - Password Protect your diary with a password - Mood Track your mood with our large selection of emojis - Offline Edit notes without internet connection

Screenshots

Personal Diary (Journal) App4 screens
Private diary3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Private diary at 5.0 against Personal Diary (Journal) App's 4.4. Private diary also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). Personal Diary (Journal) App's advantage is ratings volume (106 vs 4) and device support (5 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Personal Diary (Journal) App sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Private diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Private diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Personal Diary (Journal) App has 106 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Personal Diary (Journal) App's written reviews are positive against 100% of Private diary's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Personal Diary (Journal) App versus Private diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPersonal Diary (Journal) AppPrivate diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (106 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings106 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWern Jie LimMAKSIM VOLOSHINSKII

Customer experience

Personal Diary (Journal) App

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

Private diary

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
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

Private diary

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
3 purchases

Private diary

Subscriptions3
  • Diary premium — 1 month7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Diary premium — 3 months7 Days trial$3.493 Months
  • Diary premium — 1 year7 Days trial$5.991 Year

Questions

Is Personal Diary (Journal) App free?
Personal Diary (Journal) App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Private diary free?
Private diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Personal Diary (Journal) App or Private diary?
Private diary is rated higher. Personal Diary (Journal) App averages 4.4 out of 5 from 106 ratings, while Private diary averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Personal Diary (Journal) App or Private diary have ads?
Neither Personal Diary (Journal) App nor Private diary shows ads.

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