Skip to content

Is your journaling app private? A 10-minute audit

Journal entries are sensitive data. A ten-point checklist for storage, accounts, encryption, sync, analytics, AI features and deletion, plus what research says about app privacy.

Most journaling apps are only as private as their storage model, account requirements and data-sharing settings. You can check all three in about ten minutes, before you write anything sensitive.

Why journal data is different

Free-text writing about your mood and thoughts is hard to anonymise and easy to misuse. A step count is a number. A journal entry can name people, health conditions and fears.

Mental health apps have a weak record on privacy. Mozilla's Privacy Not Included review found that only two of 27 mental health apps met its privacy and security standards in 2023.12 An earlier Mozilla analysis of 32 apps raised similar concerns, as reported by the Brookings Institution.3

The ten-minute audit

Ask the ten questions below, in this order.

#QuestionWhere to lookBetter answer
1Where is the data stored?Privacy policy, App Store listingOn your device
2Is an account required?Sign-up screenNo account
3Who holds the encryption keys?Security pageYou do, or no one but you
4How does sync work?Settings, help pagesThrough your own cloud account
5Is there analytics or crash reporting?Privacy policy, SettingsOff by default, clearly described
6Do entries go to an AI service?Settings, policyOpt-in, with the provider named
7Is data shared with third parties?Privacy policyNo, or only processors you can name
8How long is data kept?PolicyDeleted on request
9Can you export your data?SettingsYes, in an open format
10Does the policy match the App Store label?Both documentsThey agree

Questions 1 and 2: storage and accounts

On-device storage with no account leaves the vendor with nothing to leak. An account ties your entries to an email address and often to a server. Check whether the policy covers the app or only the website.

Questions 3 and 4: keys and sync

Sync through your own cloud account is different from sync through the vendor's servers. With the first, the vendor never holds a copy. With the second, you rely on the vendor's security and policy.

End-to-end encryption means only your devices can read the data. Ask whether the app offers it and who can reset your access.

Questions 5 to 7: analytics, AI and sharing

Analytics should be opt-in, coarse and never include what you write. Look for plain wording such as "never includes entry contents".

AI features often send entries to a third-party model. Treat that as a data transfer and check whether it is off until you turn it on. Apple's Journaling Suggestions page is one example of controls that let you choose what data feeds suggestions.4

Questions 8 to 10: retention, export and consistency

A good policy states how long data is kept and how to delete it. Check that you can export before you commit years of writing.

Compare the App Store privacy label with the policy text. Differences are a warning sign.

What research says about user concern

Interview research finds that people worry about who can see health-related diary data. A comparative study of mature adults looked at privacy concerns with mobile health apps and smart speakers, including apps with a health diary.5

Concern alone does not protect you. The audit above turns a vague worry into specific checks.

Local storage has limits

Keeping data on your Mac protects it from the vendor, not from someone with access to your unlocked computer. Use a strong login password and turn on FileVault disk encryption.6

Local-only data also depends on your own backups. A lost laptop without a backup is a lost journal.

How Mandaboard answers the checklist

Mandaboard stores your boards, wins and thought records in a local database on your Mac. Images are saved on your Mac too. There is no account, no sign-in and no server of ours that holds your content.

QuestionMandaboard
StorageLocal database on your Mac
AccountNone
SyncA Premium feature, through your own private iCloud account via CloudKit
AnalyticsOpt-in and off by default. Never includes boards, cards, wins, thought records or search terms
AdsNone. Data is never sold

The app can share anonymous usage data, but only if you say yes on a first-run prompt or later in Settings ▸ General. The values are coarse, such as counts and fixed category names. Read the full Privacy Policy and iCloud sync and Premium.

Five questions to ask any app

Use these five when you have no time for the full audit.

  1. Is it stored on my device?
  2. Do I need an account?
  3. Does sync go through my own cloud account?
  4. Is analytics opt-in?
  5. Can I export and delete everything?

References

Footnotes

  1. Mozilla Foundation. Shady mental health apps inch toward privacy and security improvements, but many still siphon personal data. Privacy Not Included. ↩

  2. Yahoo Finance. The mental health app data privacy problem is getting worse. Reports that two of 27 apps met Mozilla's standards in 2023. ↩

  3. Brookings Institution. Why mental health apps need to take privacy more seriously. ↩

  4. Apple. Journaling Suggestions and Privacy. ↩

  5. Data privacy concerns using mHealth apps and smart speakers: comparative interview study among mature adults. PubMed Central. ↩

  6. Apple Support. Protect data on your Mac with FileVault. ↩

Mandaboard

A calm, private Mac app with three rooms: envision, remember, reframe.

Coming soon toMac App Store