Journal Lock vs Dtecto
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Journal Lock
Read full descriptionHide full description
Build an unbreakable journaling habit. Journal Lock helps you journal every day by using Screen Time to lock selected apps until you write. Set your journaling time, write your entry, then unlock your apps. FREE FEATURES (NO PURCHASE REQUIRED) - Normal Mode journaling (distraction-free writing) - App lock habit flow with Screen Time - Mood tracking - Voice-to-text journaling - Time Capsule (revisit past entries) - Entry encryption, Face ID / Touch ID protection - Sync across iPhone and iPad PREMIUM FEATURES (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED) - Interactive Mode with AI coaching prompts - Weekly AI insights and reflections SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Premium requires an auto-renewing in-app subscription, billed monthly or yearly. A 7-day free trial is available for eligible users. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.journallock.io/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.journallock.io/terms
Dtecto
This app helps metal detectorists track their hunts, log finds with photos and GPS data, and identify dug items. It also features a community for sharing discoveries and advanced LiDAR maps for terrain analysis.
- Track hunt distance, duration, and GPS routes
- Log finds with photos, GPS, notes, and categories
- Color-coded find map with private spot saving
- Community feed for sharing and interacting with detectorists
- LiDAR terrain maps for relic hunting
- On-the-spot identification of dug items
- Build a searchable library of hobby finds
Read full descriptionHide full description
Dtecto is the metal detectorist's field companion. Track your hunts, share your finds, and connect with detectorists who get it. Everything the hobby needs in one app. TRACK EVERY HUNT Start a hunt when you step on site. Dtecto records your steps, distance, and duration, and with Pro, your full GPS route on a map you can study later. Your hunt routes are private, always. EVERY FIND, SEARCHABLE FOREVER Photo, GPS, notes, category. Build the permanent record of your hobby and find that silver dime from two summers ago in seconds. YOUR MAP Every find pinned, color-coded by category. Save private spots on productive ground. With Pro, see community finds on the map. READ THE LAND, FIND THE HISTORY One Layers button switches the map between Map and Satellite and stacks the overlays that matter. Public lands color-coded by managing agency (USFS, BLM, NPS, and more) with detecting rules and agency links a tap away. Rivers, streams, and lakes. Historic places from the National Register and OpenStreetMap with photos and Wikipedia summaries. Civil War, Revolutionary War, and 1812 battlefield boundaries. USGS abandoned mines across the West and Midwest. Density bubbles show the productive country from any zoom, and map search flies you to any address or coordinates. TIME-TRAVEL THE GROUND: HISTORIC MAPS (PRO) Drape century-old maps over the modern world and fade between them with an opacity slider. The full USGS Historical Topographic collection (178,000 sheets, 1879 to the 2000s) covers the entire US, plus historic surveys across France, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, and Germany, and old GLO plats for Minnesota and Iowa. Find the mill, homestead, schoolhouse, or road that isn't there anymore. Try it free with a 4-minute preview. A COMMUNITY OF DETECTORISTS ONLY Post your finds, or just share the story of the hunt with a text update, photos optional. Follow diggers whose ground produces, like and comment without the noise of a generic social network. Earn your spot on the Top Detectorists leaderboard: every public find and every like moves you up the monthly and all-time boards. Report and block tools on every post and comment keep it civil. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO A quick pre-flight strip reads the day at a glance: daylight left, current weather, and a detecting-conditions verdict from Ideal to Poor. Tap it for the full breakdown so you know whether it's worth grabbing the shovel. SEE THE GROUND LIKE NEVER BEFORE: LIDAR TERRAIN (PRO) High-resolution LiDAR hillshade reveals old roadbeds, foundations, terraces, and forgotten paths that satellite imagery can't show. Three rendering modes tuned for relic hunters. IDENTIFY WHAT YOU DUG Not sure what you pulled from the ground? Snap a photo and get a likely ID in seconds: what it is, the era, and a confidence score. Coins, buttons, relics, and jewelry, identified on the spot and saved to your library. FREE VS PRO Free includes hunt logging, your find library, the community feed, text posts, the Top Detectorists leaderboard, daily conditions, your personal find map, public lands and waterway overlays, map search, and 3 identifications per month. Dtecto Pro unlocks LiDAR terrain, historic map overlays, historic places, battlefields, and abandoned-mine overlays, GPS route maps for every hunt, community find pins, unlimited identifications, and the Pro badge. $9.99/month or $79.99/year after a 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime. Terms of Use: https://dtecto.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://dtecto.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Dtecto at fortnightly against Journal Lock's every 3 months. Dtecto also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). 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
Both are free to download. Journal Lock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Dtecto sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Journal Lock ships an update every 3 months, Dtecto fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Journal Lock | Dtecto |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 10 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 173 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | asim samuel | RICARDO ANDRES MEDINA SERRA |
In-app purchases
Journal Lock
- Weekly Subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Dtecto
- Dtecto Pro Monthly14 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Dtecto Pro Yearly14 Days trial$79.991 Year









