# Shine vs PrivateFolders

The clearest difference is update cadence: Shine at every 5 days against PrivateFolders's fortnightly. Shine also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shine sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and PrivateFolders sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Shine ships an update every 5 days, PrivateFolders fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shine | PrivateFolders |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shine-timeline-diary/id1673213224/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4** | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 106 MB | 148 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [晓松 高](https://appshunter.io/developer/1507839334) | [Beijing Tapfeng Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1665425079) |

## What reviewers say

### Shine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shine-timeline-diary/id1673213224)

This app allows you to create a personalized journal with customizable themes, colors, and tags. Record your daily thoughts, track your mood, and even add location and weather data to your entries. Export your diary in PDF or HTML format for easy sharing.

**Highlights:** Customizable themes and colors, Location and weather tracking, PDF and HTML export, Calendar and gallery views, Voice diary recording, Rich emotional expressions with emojis, WebDAV and iCloud sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 连续包月 | $0.99 | per month |
| 连续包年 | $6.99 | per year |
| 买断 | $39.99 | one-time |


### PrivateFolders

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/privatefolders/id6478435057)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| lifeTime | $5.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shine free?

Shine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PrivateFolders free?

PrivateFolders is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Shine or PrivateFolders have ads?

Neither Shine nor PrivateFolders shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shine or PrivateFolders?

Shine ships an update every 5 days, and PrivateFolders fortnightly. Most recently, Shine was updated on September 25, 2026 and PrivateFolders on October 12, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*