Comparison

Simple Short Diary vs Secret Diary

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

Head to head
About

Simple Short Diary

A straightforward journaling app that encourages brief daily entries using single words and icons. It aims to make recording your day easy and sustainable, serving as a companion to enrich your experiences.

Highlights
  • Single-word daily entries
  • Icon-based recording
  • Easy and quick to use
  • Enriches daily life
  • Sustainable journaling habit
Read full description

This is a simple diary app. Just look back at the day and write in one word. It's easy and lasts a long time. The diary app is the best partner to enrich your days. Look for lots of fun to write fun. This app will surely be useful. ・Terms of Use https://eeggs.jp/terms-of-use-en

About

Secret Diary

Securely record your thoughts, daily events, and journeys with this private diary app. It offers robust security features like Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode lock, and allows for extensive personalization with themes, fonts, and backgrounds. All entries are stored locally for maximum privacy.

Highlights
  • Face ID, Touch ID, passcode lock
  • iCloud backup and restore
  • Unlimited editing options
  • Add photos, backgrounds, fonts
  • Personalize with artistic themes
  • Local data storage
Features
Read full description

Secret Diary is a free diary journal app with high security. Your data is safe with iCloud backup and restore. This app use Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode lock to protect the security of your secret thoughts, daily diary and journeys. To ensure privacy and security, all your entry will only be saved on your device and not sent to any servers. Secret Diary provide unlimited dairy editing options, adding photos, backgrounds, fonts, moods, etc. Also, you can personalize this app with multiple artistic and kawaii themes. Everything is free! This App will protect your memories securely. Please try and enjoy it!

Screenshots

Simple Short Diary1 screens
Secret Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Secret Diary at none against Simple Short Diary's 1. Secret Diary also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (85% vs 67%). On price, rating 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. Simple Short Diary sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Secret Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Simple Short Diary against 4.7 for Secret Diary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Secret Diary has 98 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Simple Short Diary's written reviews are positive against 85% of Secret Diary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Short Diary ships an update every 6 weeks, Secret Diary every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Simple Short Diary versus Secret Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Short DiarySecret Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14 ratings) — better4.7 (98 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews85.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1498 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEasterEggsTrang Le Thi

Customer experience

Simple Short Diary

All ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Secret Diary

All ratings59 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral11.9%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral7.5%
Negative7.5%

Bugs and requests

Simple Short Diary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Secret Diary

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Cannot get back to previous background themes
  • Lock screen appears after entries are visible
  • App crashes when phone is on airplane mode
  • Difficulty entering or recovering passcode
  • Passcode not visible or functional at times

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow autocorrect while typing
  • Ensure lock screen appears first
  • Recover passcode when forgotten
  • Add backup feature
  • Enable Face ID/Touch ID for login

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Simple Short Diary

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Plan$0.991 Month
None

Secret Diary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Short Diary free?
Simple Short Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Secret Diary free?
Secret Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simple Short Diary or Secret Diary?
Simple Short Diary is rated higher. Simple Short Diary averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Secret Diary averages 4.7 from 98 ratings.
Do Simple Short Diary or Secret Diary have ads?
Simple Short Diary shows ads; Secret Diary does not.
Which is updated more often, Simple Short Diary or Secret Diary?
Simple Short Diary ships an update every 6 weeks, and Secret Diary every 2 weeks. Most recently, Simple Short Diary was updated on October 24, 2026 and Secret Diary on October 23, 2026.

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