Apple Journal vs Skrive

Apple Journal is a free journaling app for recording everyday moments and special events. Entries can combine text, photos, videos, audio, places, drawings, and a logged state of mind. On-device intelligence groups outings, workouts, photos, and media into suggestions, while reflection prompts and scheduled notifications support regular writing. You can create multiple journals, search and sort entries, browse a calendar, and view entries by location. Writing tools include formatting, inline attachments, drawings, and audio recording with transcription; Apple says transcription in English excludes Singapore and India locales. State-of-mind entries can be saved to Health, and writing time can become Mindful Minutes. Suggestions are processed on device, with sharing controlled by the user. Device passcodes encrypt entries; iCloud entries receive end-to-end encryption with default two-factor authentication and a passcode. iCloud sync covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but Journal entries are not included in iCloud backups.

Skrive is a daily journal built around one plain-text entry per day. Users can browse entries by date and search the full text of their journal history. The free app does not limit how much users can write, and entries are saved locally first, so writing and reading can continue offline or when the cloud service is unavailable. Skrive is available for macOS, iOS, and Android, and entries can be exported as JSON or plain text. Before transmission, entries are encrypted on the device with AES-256 using a key controlled by the user. The maker says encrypted backups are stored on servers in the EU. Skrive Pro adds encrypted cloud backup and sync across devices; it is listed at $3.99 a month. The encryption passphrase cannot be recovered if lost, and entries may become inaccessible after signing out, changing devices, or reinstalling the app. The maker is based in Oslo, Norway. The product has a free plan and a 14-day trial.