Fading Ink vs Diary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Fading Ink
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This is a diary that decays. Every word you write begins to disappear from the moment you set it down. Fading, displaced, repeating โ then nothing. Not because you deleted it. Because time decided. Open it tomorrow and you'll find yesterday's words are fewer. Last week's entry is barely legible. The one from three months ago is just a date. This is not a bug. This is the design. It's simple to use. Open the app, write what you want to say today. You can write a lot or just a line. Before midnight you can keep adding โ but you cannot edit what you've already written. At midnight, it locks. The decay begins. Tomorrow is a new page. This is a real diary. Write it. Then let it go.
Diary
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One line a day. That's the whole idea. A private five-year micro diary that takes ten seconds a night โ and one day shows you what you wrote on this exact date one, two, five years ago. Write one short line about today, auto-dated. Tomorrow, another. A month from now you have a quiet calendar of your days; a year from now, today comes back to meet you. That's it. No prompts to answer, no streaks to keep, no guilt for a missed day โ a missed day just stays empty. ONE LINE A DAY - A single 280-character entry per day, dated for you - Editable the same day โ then it's part of the record - A beautiful, calm, paper-warm design with serif writing - Add a photo to any day's entry - Color themes, including a dark mode ON THIS DAY - YOUR MEMORY KEEPER - See the same date across every past year, stacked on one page - "One year ago... two years ago... five years ago..." - A five-year diary that quietly writes itself A WHOLE MONTH AT A GLANCE - A soft month calendar with a dot on every day you wrote - No charts, no percentages โ just your days A PRIVATE DIARY WITH LOCK - Optional Face ID / Touch ID app lock - An offline journal โ no account, no sign-in, no cloud - Nothing is ever uploaded; your words stay on your phone CALM BY DESIGN - One gentle daily reminder, at a time you choose โ never a streak, never a nag - No badges, no goals, no gamification - Just a quiet place for your daily journal YOURS TO KEEP - Look back through your entire diary, any time - Export your whole diary as a PDF or plain text, any time Whether you call it a one line a day journal, a micro journal, a memory keeper, or simply your diary โ this is the simplest way to remember your life, ten seconds at a time. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ โ Privacy Policy: https://kanac.github.io/syanac-legal/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Diary at Free against Fading Ink's $3.99. Fading Ink's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Diary is free to download; Fading Ink costs $3.99 up front. Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Fading Ink asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Fading Ink | Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free โ better |
| Update frequency | โ | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad โ better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 243 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Muheng Li | Anthony Chui |
In-app purchases
Fading Ink
No in-app purchases
Diary
- Pro Monthly$11.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$35.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$59.99








