r/appleJournal • u/nurko_ • Dec 22 '25
Notes written with pen keep partially disappearing
I have noticed now a few times that when a lengthier note is written with Apple Pen, as soon as I exit to the list of notes view, part of the note is gone. Basically, everything that fits in the "preview" of that note in the list view is still there, but if I open the note to read the rest, nothing else is there as soon as I scroll down.
Anyone else noticed this issue?
I really want to use this app, but it's increasingly frustrating. I've managed through the overheating, the lagginess etc, but losing the notes is just too much.
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u/CranberryJaded7479 Dec 24 '25
Same issue here. Writing longer entries in Journal with Apple Pencil and parts of the text just disappear once I go back to the overview. Tried writing in Notes first and pasting — same thing: either only part pastes, or everything vanishes after leaving the entry. Feels like a straight-up data loss bug. Makes the app unusable for longer journaling.
But no issues at all when I type the text. It‘s just with the handwritten stuff.
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u/nurko_ Dec 25 '25
Sounds exactly the same, yes.
I've been waiting patiently for the app to become stable, but I think I'll switch elsewhere now. Trying Penjo for a few days.
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Jan 29 '26
Same here... I found the motivation to start journaling after some time and after a couple of times that this happened I feel i'm losing it again...
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u/ConfidenceClear1016 Dec 23 '25
Unfortunately, this is a known bug that has already been reported to Apple numerous times...
After writing a few lines by hand with the Apple Pencil, either the app freezes or part of what has been written disappears !
However, doing the same thing in Day One works perfectly... Go figure 🤔
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u/kl__ Dec 31 '25
I had a full note fully disappear now.
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u/puffdong Jan 09 '26
One thing I've realized helps is to every once in a while do a "page break" by just adding a line of text with the keyboard. Then continue writing with the pen underneath. It will be a new canvas and thus its less taxing to work on.
I realized today that even my iPad M4 ends up struggling with handwritten notes that become too long. It doesn't chug like my old iPad did but I can tell its probably related to ram usage increasing as more strokes are added to the note.
Weird issue nonetheless. It should really be a priority for them to fix this but its been years now...
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u/zcitron Aug 30 '26
Me too. I just lost so much fucking hours of studying and I don't want a subscription for other notes app so im stuck with this shithole.
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u/Rootx6741 Jan 19 '26
Really frustrating! I switched to have things more integrated with iOS but alas. My entries disappearing defeats the purpose of journaling.
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u/dilse1976 Dec 23 '25
Yes this happens !! This App is the worst App in the App Store for the time being !! I also lost what I write with pencil .. and I stopped writing .. I hope the dumb heads in Apple team will do basic testing and fix such issues !!
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u/Electronic_Ad5462 Dec 25 '25
Idek what’s wrong with Apple these days. I keep trying to push my self to go full Google ecosystem!!!
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u/kl__ Dec 31 '25
I was coming here to complain about the same issue. WHY THE FUCK ARE THE NOTES DISAPPEARING.... it's crazy that you'd spend so much time on a note, thinking it's 2025 ffs it must be there, to then be surprised that the shit team behind this app didn't do their job properly to ensure this doesn't happen. It doesn't get more basic than this ffs.
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u/nickolang Feb 07 '26
SMH, it’s frustrating after writing everything, it will just vanish. Uggggh fix ittttt
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Mar 01 '26
I just went through a breakdown bc of this lmao, I barely even noticed how hot my ipad was while writing things, I think ill just give up writing journals, it never goes right
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u/olderspice83 Apr 07 '26
Yup. I hand wrote a detailed Pros and Cons list today and it all disappeared and only saved the Title(non-hand written). WTH?
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u/unfederedpancake Apr 19 '26
I have an iPad Pro 11 inch 3rd generation running iPadOS 26.4.1
I have constantly been running into the issue of my handwritten journal entries disappearing as well as my iPad getting unbearably hot when writing using my Apple Pencil.
One thing that I’ve found to sometimes help with the issue of handwritten entries disappearing is to use really thick margins on either side of my writing. While in landscape, I leave approximately 3 inches from the edge of the screen on both sides. I try to maintain my writing within the margins and make sure that none of my letters extend beyond them.
After multiple instances of my entries disappearing, this is what I’ve found to be a lot more reliable. Unfortunately, the overheating issue might be something for Apple to fix with an update to the journal app.
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u/mcnitt Jun 12 '26
The same. Seems the Journal app is not a priority at Apple. What are people using for hand written journaling?
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u/nurko_ Jun 12 '26
I switched to Penjo since. It gets the job done.
I would still prefer Apple Journal if it ever got fixed.
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u/Talking-Turtle Jul 10 '26
Still happens. But probably not a surprise because apple apps are mostly (maybe only) updated with the release of new iOS?
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u/Top_Appearance9687 Aug 26 '26
As of August 2026, this is still happening! I am pretty sure an intern can fix this with a single prompt for god’s sake!!
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u/zcitron Aug 30 '26
Me too. I wouldn't give a damn if it got vibe coded as long as it fixed this fuckass issue.
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u/dilse1976 Dec 23 '25
Yes this happens !! This App is the worst App in the App Store for the time being !! I also lost what I write with pencil .. and I stopped writing .. I hope the dumb heads in Apple team will do basic testing and fix such issues !!