Comparison

Diary with lock vs Penlock

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

Head to head
About

Diary with lock

Create a secure personal journal to record daily events, thoughts, and secrets. Protect your entries with a password or PIN code and customize the look with different colors and fonts. This app offers a simple, fast, and user-friendly way to document your life.

Highlights
  • Password & PIN code protection
  • Customizable background colors
  • Changeable font styles
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Searchable entries
  • Unlimited entries
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Use "Diary with lock" app to make your own personal journal of daily events, appointments, secrets and feelings. ****************FEATURES**************** • Diary with lock: Password & pin code protection • Diary with lock: Personalize background color (Pink, Purple, Blue, ++) • Diary with lock: Change font-style • Diary with lock: Easy to use • Diary with lock: Search entries • Diary with lock: Make unlimited entries • Diary with lock: Support 3 languages: English, Japanese, Vietnamese. • Diary with lock: The most downloaded diary app on AppStore! ******************************************* Build from the ground up to be simple and user friendly, the user interface is designed to allow you to enter new notes quickly and easily. With this Diary you can write all your private notes and secure them with a pin code or password. * Track and write about your daily activities Make it a habit to quickly write one or more mini-notes during your day. Simply leave a few words about your workout session, what happened at school or in the office during your day. In weekends, you can write about all the fun you had walking your dog, meeting with friends, or being social with your family. Make it a unique travel diary, or road journal that documents your journey. This can be the daily activity log you always have wanted. Make it your personal journal and have fun reading it over in few year, and share a few laughs with your friends. As this app is pure textual, and contains no images or photos, it runs ultra fast and smooth on any iOS device, and consumes minimal of available memory and disk-space! * This diary is perfect to use as: 1. Diet journal A food diary is a daily record of all food consumed as a means of tracking calorie consumption, weight loss or other nutritional monitoring. 2. Dream journal Or dream diary is a journal in which dream experiences are recorded for later analysis and possibly oneiromancy. 3. Sleep diaries A sleep log is a tool used in diagnosis of sleep disorders. 4. Travel journals A travel diary, or road journal, is valuable documentation of a journey. (only textual, no images or photos) 5. Write your own Autobiography This diary app can easily fit the purpose of a writing down your memoir or chronicle. Keep a log or logbook to record history. Do like famous Anne Frank, make daily records, document life in your own daybook. Never forget a journal entry again, setup a reminder to alert you when it is time to write. Protect all personal notes by adding a pin code when it starts up. Never worry about losing memories again. Easily send a backup of diary entries directly to email for extra protection. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://privacy-policy-site-five-nu.vercel.app

About

Penlock

Features
Read full description

Penlock is a beautiful journaling app built on one principle: your words never leave your device. No cloud sync. No accounts. No servers. No subscriptions. Everything you write is stored locally on your iPhone — private by design, not as an afterthought. WRITE FREELY Create journal entries, attach photos, set your mood, and organize with custom colored tags. Whether it's a quick daily reflection or a detailed travel log, Penlock gives you everything you need — and nothing you don't. START FROM YOUR DAY On iPhone, Journaling Suggestions bring up moments from your day — photos, places, workouts and music — so you never face a blank page. You choose what to use; Penlock only sees what you pick. STAY PRIVATE Your journal is protected by Face ID or Touch ID. All data lives in Apple's secure local storage — never uploaded, never shared, never seen by anyone but you. BUILD A HABIT Track your writing streak and keep the momentum going. Add the streak widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen. Use built-in writing starters — gratitude, daily reflection, goal setting, weekly review, travel log — or create your own custom prompts. DISCOVER YOUR PAST The Timeline view lets you navigate entries by date at a glance. Memories and the On This Day widget show what you wrote on this day in previous years. Full-text search puts every thought you've ever written at your fingertips. SHARE YOUR PROGRESS, NOT YOUR WORDS Celebrate a streak or your Year in Penlock with a shareable card. Cards show only your numbers — days, entries, words — never what you wrote. ONE PRICE. YOURS FOREVER. Penlock is a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring charges, all future updates included. Try it free with up to 10 entries, then unlock everything for life. FEATURES · Unlimited journal entries (after one-time unlock) · Custom tags with 10 color options · Photo attachments — up to 10 per entry · Mood tracking with 12 emoji moods · Writing starters and custom templates · Journaling Suggestions on iPhone · Writing streak tracker · Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets · On This Day memories · Shareable streak and Year in Penlock cards · Timeline calendar view · Full-text search · Markdown export · Face ID / Touch ID protection · Daily writing reminders · No cloud, no accounts · All future updates included PRIVACY Penlock does not collect any personal data. Your journal entries, photos, and preferences never leave your device. The only third-party services are RevenueCat for purchase validation and anonymous crash reports that help fix bugs — neither ever receives any of your journal content. Full privacy policy at tonybach.io/Penlock/privacy.

Screenshots

Diary with lock4 screens
Penlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Diary with lock at every 6 weeks against Penlock's every 4 months. Diary with lock also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Diary with lock sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Penlock sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Diary with lock ships an update every 6 weeks, Penlock every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Diary with lock versus Penlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDiary with lockPenlock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews65.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.2K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTuyen BuiPHUC HOANG BACH

Bugs and requests

Diary with lock

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Entries randomly disappearing
  • Constant redirects to ads when trying to write
  • Login/password reset not working properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Backup and sync entries across devices
  • Fingerprint/Face ID support for locking
  • Ability to change font size and color
  • Option to disable ads for paid users

Penlock

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Diary with lock

Subscriptions1
  • Cloud Sync Monthly$9.991 Month
One-time2
  • Donate to Developer$5.99
  • Diary with lock-No Advertising$8.99
1 purchases

Penlock

One-time1
  • Penlock Lifetime$7.99

Questions

Is Diary with lock free?
Diary with lock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Penlock free?
Penlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Diary with lock or Penlock have ads?
Neither Diary with lock nor Penlock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Diary with lock or Penlock?
Diary with lock ships an update every 6 weeks, and Penlock every 4 months. Most recently, Diary with lock was updated on October 25, 2026 and Penlock on October 22, 2026.

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