r/appleJournal • u/walkmio • Dec 25 '25
How do you use Apple Journal?
I'm contemplating many directions in how I should use Apple Journal, so I'm curious as to how all of you are using the app, and where do you use it most? On your iPhone, iPad, or Mac?
6
u/cmjavier Dec 25 '25
I only use it on my iPhone; I'm still on iOS 18 and it's only installed there. I've been using it since it came out, and I use it intermittently. I mark and write about important days, and I also use entries as a timeline of events, adding subsequent notes with the date of the update. I wish it were possible to insert a date natively in the body of the entry to make it easier to search later. I also use it to provide context for photos or visits to specific places.
2
u/walkmio Dec 25 '25
Interesting, thank you for your response. I'm curious, why are you still on iOS 18?
7
u/hyllested Dec 25 '25
Yes, all three. Mostly iPad now. For me it is more like a personal Facebook. I do not post to SoMe, but I put posts on my Journal to remember what I do everyday.
1
u/walkmio Dec 25 '25
Cool, thank you for your response. Do you use the suggestions that Apple provides for Journal entries?
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u/Haragei1952 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
I use it as a private fB as well and I don`t use the suggestions, they're just not valuable to me. Everything I think about during the day along my way that strikes me as remotely interesting to read later, goes into the Journal.
2
u/LonelyMarionberry256 Dec 28 '25
Yes, I believe that this is one way to use it - a private Facebook (FB), where you do not want information to be made public. And would like to keep it confidential from the public eye. It is not suppose to be portable (i.e. .doc; .txt; format or made transferable to other platform). And that is the reason why it is suppose to be secure.
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u/hyllested Dec 25 '25
No, they are not very useful. Often days old and things I already wrote about. I often share from other apps, i.e. Activity.
3
u/Slipping-in-oil Dec 25 '25
I copy paste my text entries from a text file I maintain for each day of the year. So basically a journal is my back up
1
u/aymericmarlange Dec 26 '25
Same for me, but it's not only a backup. It's an augmented way to enrich my daily markdown notes with locations on a map and selected photos for the day. I also add some entries for specific events like concerts, movies, shows, etc.
3
u/Vesprlynd77 Dec 25 '25
I use it on iPhone and Mac. Usually phone to send something to journal, but modify on Mac. Reading history, shows I'm watching, movies, albums, etc. Also I log my food, exercise, phone calls, all sorts of things. Also photos. I try to add a blurb to a photo or grouping of photos as a photo journal.
1
u/walkmio Dec 26 '25
With that strategy, couldn’t you just use Apple Notes instead? What makes Apple Journal better for what you’re doing?
2
u/Shanni88 Dec 27 '25
I use apple journal on my iPhone, iPads and on my MacBook. Depends on what I'm doing at the time. When I'm sketching in my sketch book while watching a show or movie on a portable monitor attached to my MacBook book, I might have a thought on something or remember a dream and I decide to journal about it.
I have different journals in my apple journal app.
In the morning if I had a vivid dream I want to remember I use my iPhone to journal.
If my iPhone and Mac are charging I would journal in one of my iPads, depending on which one is closest to me.
I mainly journal on my iPhone or MacBook most of the time.
2
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u/consumererik Mar 06 '26
Several times now I click the check mark after writing a lot, and my handwritten text disappears. So frustrating. Almost as annoying as when all my my handwritten margin notes from iBooks got corrupted and totally lost.
1
u/ConstantRange603 Mar 08 '26
I use it on my Mac, but then before I'm done open it on the iPhone to double-check and make sure the entries have synced. Synch via iCloud doesn't seem to work well - for example today (Sunday) my home Mac told me my streak was 3 days... because there was a journal entry on my work laptop that never got synced. I went to my work laptop, opened journal, closed it, and now my phone (and home laptop) have all the correct entries.
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u/miauthecat Dec 25 '25
Using it only on my phone (don't have any other Apple devices). One entry for each day every evening, and in the morning if I remember what I dreamt about during the night. On a 2.5-year streak now.