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freshentropy · 5 years ago

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In search for the perfect app for diary, journal, notes and general writing

With the development of the mobile, one would think that by 2020, there will be plenty of perfect apps to keep memories and to entertain creative mind indulged in the practice of writing. Well, not for my purposes. I spent several months in vain, trying to find the perfect app. I think I have OCD to organize digital stuff, — files, directories, posts, emails. I always spend considerable amount of time on making elaborate folder structures or name photographs in a proper way, and yes, geotagging is a big deal for me. I admit, for most people, a simple notepad or diary/notes app will suffice. At the end, everyone is different and individual.

So, what are my requirements?

- writing should be comfortable and pleasant, so visual appearance of the app is important. Good and flexible text formatting is a plus. It can be rich text, markdown or even LaTeX.

multi-platform with instant sync. I want to be able to use the same app on iPad and on Android phone. Web and desktop versions are a plus.

- multiple books/journals/notepads/timelines — one for daily life, another for travels etc…

- importantly, the app should have both, the timeline journal with dated entries and notes that are organized in a different way. Think about it as a blog site with blog posts and static pages.

security, — I don’t want my writing be all over the internet. E2EE encryption is a plus.

- multimedia handling, — ideally, I want my post look like a story or an essay with images and videos (with captions) inserted in proper places and surrounded by relevant text. Most diaries keep images as attachments that does not help the narrative.

- no subscription, — I cannot be dependent on some future payments. I am willing to pay once for a lifetime premium, ad free app, but no subscription.

There are many apps for journaling and even more for general writing and storytelling. Most, however, are either iOS only or Android only. I tried literally dozens of apps, but most are not worth spending my time on. It is not my purpose to review them all. Here, I will mention only those I found interesting to keep at least for more than a day. I will be updating this post as my experience using these apps grows.

## Almost perfect — WordPress.org

WordPress blog is almost perfect realization of what I need and for now, this is what I will be using. It can be secured with a plugin and with a huge variety of themes, it is always possible to find the suitable one. Plugins can be used to bring in practically any functionality that one would want.

So, why am I still looking for another app? It is just the WP mobile app is not as nice as I wanted it to be. Handling media is awkward and difficult. Also, using webpages for stories and larger notes is inconvenient when their size grows. One solution is to use tags and pin posts. All in all, WP feels like a garage production in a rainy day rather than a refined story on the beach.

WP app is constantly being improved. Who knows, maybe some day it will be all I need, but for now, I am still looking.

## Apps that survived the initial tests

### Multiplatform

- Joplin — an excellent markdown notepad with encryption. It is free and has active support and users. I use it daily….. but not for journaling. It is not a diary. Image handling is too primitive (that’s the general md problem).

- Journey — this one is opposite to Joplin (and so I use it in parallel with Joplin). This is a very nice digital diary. Good for quick entries and is available on all platforms.

- Diarium — what a treat! Nice and robust diary/journal app. However, similar to Joplin, formatting and image handling is rudimentary. I do use it, though.

- Diaro — similar to Journey. I used it, but stopped. No notes, just the timeline.

- Day One — a really nice diary with multiple books. Almost perfect, but the subscription ruins it all. I used it, but no more.

- Daybook — not bad and totally multiplatform, but it is a simple diary only and requires subscription.

### iOS

- Once — Not bad, but formatting is quite limited. Diary and longer posts are in one mix, but multiple books can be used to maintain some order.

Momentary — similar to Once. Nice to write an essay about a trip or other singular topic.

- Grid Diary — very nice app with customizable templates and multiple books. I would definitely use it, but there is no Android counterpart.

- iJournaler — best of all in terms of appearance. Like a real notebook with flipping pages.

Unfortunately, rudimentary media handling and No Android. This app is very old is is rarely updated. I’ve had it for many years now. Just like the look.

### Android only

- Memorize — a very nicely made app, but, again, this is just the linear diary/journal.

- Journal it! — Finally, this one is almost perfect and the only app that has both, timed diary like entries and notes. It also has several features to help you to form a habit (of writing the diary, for example.) However, no iOS support makes it ineligible for my purposes.

— — — — — — —

After writing this, and hopelessly trying a few more apps for a couple of days, just downloading and installing non stop, I gave up. Also, I spent a lot of money on unlocking premium features in hope to find the perfect app. Alas, it is not made yet. Perhaps, next year?

As all digital these days, there is just too much junk. I guess, many are simply trying to cook up something quickly, post it out there in a subscription mode and sit back, relax receiving dividends. Others are really trying to produce a great app, but then they often overthink it by filling it with habit forming exercises or gratitude wining, just bloating an otherwise good app.

So, so far, in January 2020, there is no single app that I like and that would satisfy my modest requirements.

For now, I will keep my notes one OneDrive (or GoogleDrive) organized the way I want them in directories and folders. I will use markdown, so the files can be opened directly by MD editors of which there are plenty on both sides, iOS and Android and some have really nice appearance and useful editing capabilities.

For running quick notes, Joplin that is super useful on all platforms. And for the diary and photo entries, Journey and Diarium. Yes several apps in parallel. Inefficient, but there is no alternative.

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