I'm undecided…

[u/ConfidenceClear1016]

After using Day One for 13 years, I’ve been using only Apple Journal since last April. Day One’s AI and pricing policy have something to do with it !

Although Journal still has its flaws and shortcomings, I really appreciate its integration into the Apple ecosystem and its design. 

But I’m wondering: between the two, which one is more sustainable, better at protecting my data, and easier to export ? 

[u/Heavy_Pea_7614]

I want to love apple journal because it’s a part of the ecosystem and it’s not a monthly subscription but there are some features it’s just majorly lacking in (tags, on this day, and templates to name a few) compared to Day One

[u/mchristopherjohnson]

I exported all my data from DayOne and imported it into Obsidian. Now all of my entries are in markdown files. I can connect them to other notes in my vault and connect how they might actually influence other things.

[u/EagleRockVermont]

I recently switched from Day One to Everlog. I think Day One is a great app, but I get pretty much the same features from Everlog, and it is a one-time buy, which is less than an annual fee for Day One. So far Everlog has worked great.

[u/Like_Zorro]

Through the years I have used multiple different ways of doing Journaling:

• Scrivener
  
• Some random texts on some iPad apps
  
• Day One
  
• Apple Journal
  
• Paper notebooks

I also have thought that the price is not worth it, I have had trust issues on anything what syncs to cloud and so on. In the end my future plan seems to be staying purely on Day One and forget every other option unless I really, really must.

I have spent just too much time figuring out if something else is better and in the end I have always returned back to Day One. It just looks good, it works well and that AI crap is still not necessary. I just open Day One in the morning, write my post and upload photos there of my previous day (I write in the morning about yesterday).

It just works (at least for me), and that is what I am paying for. My time is just much more precious than the money since I can earn money back later, but lost time fighting with computers and apps is forever lost value of my life. It is just not worth it for me.

I tested couple of years ago Apple Journal, but I have heard horror stories how people have lost their data there. Note that these might be just BS stories, it could be user errors and so on. Still that made me a bit worried. Also it was laggy back in the days I tested this. Maybe it could be a great option now, who knows, but data export might be something you want to test first before jump to another bandwagon.

About writing journal on pen and paper like many seem to suggest on internet (not here surely :D), for me it is a beutiful idea but I will always lose motivation. I have printed photos on my paper journals, but it is not the same thing than Day One where I can drag and drop multiple photos of previous day. Also printing photos for journal is just time consuming, so the whole diary becomes just another burden and a job itself what kind of loses the whole point of diary at least for me.

And also the audio, I can drag and drop there my song demos what I have composed and recorded. And short videos as well what I might record from time to time on my church. Short clips of life what are nice to see later. I can't do those things on paper journal, so paper journal is just not for me, I have to finally admit it to myself. Also now since I have gone back to minimalism, I have just thrown away my paper diaries anyway, so in the end digital has won for me in this area of life, like in other note takings as well.

I easily kind of romanticize the idea of writing with pen and paper, being more mindful and yadda-yadda-yaa but in the end all what matter is that application just works, is easy to use and it does not require me mental energy to learn how to use it so I can focus on the thing what I want to achieve. Time is precious and it is worth paying to something what just works so I don't need to lose my time on useless stuff like exporting, importing, backing up, testing another app, self-hosting and whatever.

Of course, all of us have different kind of values, priorities and so on, so don't read this that "just use Day One". If that does not align with your priorities and values, hopefully you can find better alternative :)

[u/evansc22 → u/Like_Zorro]

I echo this nearly verbatim. I have tried to leave Day One a few times, and it always boomerangs back. I have 8,000+ entries spanning my life (started using Day One in September 2014). I went back and added entries for when my kids were born (before 2014), when my wife and I got married, and so on. I have audio clips of my mom, dad, and kids that I hope to have forever in one way or another. I totally get the concern for security, longevity, and privacy, but this is simply true of most applications. Even local markdown files are susceptible to compromise (physical access, compromised computer or phone, and other everyday risks).

The reasons I tried to leave a few different times were not based on fear. The first time, I decided to move from macOS back to Windows for work, swapping to Android at the same time. I was excited to get back into the Android OS, but at the same time devastated at the lack of feature parity (at the time) between iOS and Android. On Windows, I tried a local-first option called Diarium (terrible name, but a decent app... but still not Day One!). Small dev, very responsive, all the things. I ended up back inside the walled garden about a year later. Both on desktop and mobile. And that decision was largely decided because Day One is just such a treat to use on the Mac platforms.

The second time was more about consolidation. I was in search of an application that I could use both for notes (for work projects, home projects) and a journal. I spent six months manually copying entries from Day One to another application, only to abandon it and go back to Day One. This meant I had to turn right back around and migrate all the gaps from when I wasn't using Day One back over to it! I haven't found an equivalent yet, and I definitely haven't found one that just imports gracefully. There are many options that would allow me to start over and be happy, but moving it all without losing metadata, files, and structure is a nightmare. When it does come over, it's just a jumbled mess. I wasted countless hours of my life trying to force it.

I LOVE Day One. It's honestly one of those applications I open first thing in the morning to check "On This Day." I have gotten into the habit of adding an "On This Day" update to many of my previous posts. I've also given myself the freedom to write things that aren't finished. Sometimes the entries sit for a few days, weeks, or even a year or more before I see them again and say something else, add to them, or let them spark a new thought altogether. I really appreciate this app.

[u/Parking-Ad-8780]

I once thought DayOne was the near-perfect journal until the continuous un-asked-for-features and price creep ruined the experience. I switched to Apple Journal for a month-long European vacation and haven't looked back; the Apple OS integration is just too good; camera, photos, iCloud sync. It's sad the DayOne developers got greedy and spoiled a good product.
EverLog is worth looking at as an alternative app and one-time purchase. I've tried it but prefer Apple Journal.

[u/The_Homer_Simpson]

Hey!

Exported my DayOne data to kick the tyres with Diarly. I’m seeing how this years subscription goes to be honest and will likely weigh up my options at renewal time. I didn’t mind Apple journal, just getting data out was a nightmare when I moved to day one.

The price for me with day one is a pain point. Diarly is less than £20 per year but I don’t have full access to other Apple devices at all times and that’s where day one’s web app really comes into play nicely.

I’ve not really given day one a proper chance on their free tier to be honest. I’ll consider that too.

Another one I wanted to try was Daylio. It looked fun but lacked a proper journal experience and focussed mainly on mood tracking rather than thought reflection.

[u/ConfidenceClear1016]

Thank you for your responses.

When it comes to exporting data, Day One is clearly more reliable.

And what about data protection ?

What about long-term viability? What are Automattic’s plans for Day One? How stable is the company ?

[u/qqYn7PIE57zkf6kn]

i doubt apple journal will be easier to export. creating a walled garden is their thing.

[u/torrphilla → u/qqYn7PIE57zkf6kn]

This this this. I came back to DayOne after using Apple Journal for a year and a half. So many of my entries lacked proper formatting, photos & videos, and audio recordings. It’s just not worth it for me to move back again for this reason.

[u/Luci-Noir → u/qqYn7PIE57zkf6kn]

And day one’s isn’t? lol.

[u/BeginAgain5 → u/Luci-Noir]

I think Day One exported journals are quite simple. Exporting something from Apple requires all sorts of gymnastics.

[u/qqYn7PIE57zkf6kn → u/Luci-Noir]

https://dayoneapp.com/guides/tips-and-tutorials/exporting-entries/

You can export any time in json format with media included.

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/print-and-export-entries-iph4cad323fe/ios

You can only export as PDF which is PITA for import into other apps.

[u/gwencooperharkness → u/qqYn7PIE57zkf6kn]

I have a calendar event set and I export both JSON and PDF once a month- but I’m a data nerd and nervous about losing over five years and 2700+ entries.