Popular journaling app Day One received an update yesterday that introduces end-to-end encryption to its cloud server for the first time, as well as a handful of other improvements.
Rather than using iCloud, Day One synchronizes data between devices using its own servers, something that has opened it up to criticism in the past because of security concerns regarding private journal data.
Version 2.2 of the app should allay those worries, since Day One now encrypts journal data from client to server via a user-generated private key. However it's important to note that the new end-to-end encryption feature is enabled on a journal-by-journal basis, so users need to go to Journals in Day One's Settings and select the journals they want to encrypt from there.
If users do not enable end-to-end encryption, Day One defaults to standard encryption, which encrypts journal data "at rest" on the company's servers. This less secure method requires that Day One staff hold the keys to decrypt journal data.
In addition to the enhanced security feature, the in-app camera has been improved to make it easier to take photos and quickly add multiple square-cropped shots to entries. Journal metadata now also includes the device name on which an entry was created.
Elsewhere, recent searches are now saved in a list for convenient re-use, while an app-wide state restoration system has been implemented so that users can pick up where they left off in the event of a crash or a force quit. The update also includes several fixes that should improve the user experience.
End-to-end encryption is included in the 2.2 update for both iOS and Mac. Day One is a $4.99 app on the iOS App Store and costs $39.99 on the Mac App Store.
Top Rated Comments
The PDF files exported by DayOne looks gorgeous and frankly, I think they look even better than viewing my journal in the app interface!
Also, you can order prints of your data but I'm not quite familiar with that.
End to end encryption and a solid sync are major features and they're nailing it.
I was shocked to see that for my "goals" part of my daily logs - I was saying almost the IDENTICAL stuff years ago. Like wait a minute, I've been trying to do this for 2 years now? Really? lol. What am I not doing to make this happen? It was incredibly shocking.
I take a lot of photos of my surroundings just so I can remember what I did during the day - to make it easier to write a "daily log" when I get back home. This helps me with the self improvement process - noticing small things, habits, etc...
The biggest benefit that I've found writing these logs is the act of de-stressing. The world, my job, etc... is incredibly stressful. It's an incredibly de-stressing exercise to write my thoughts down, talk about my day, and recording information.
Many many years ago, while watching Star Trek episodes, I thought how cool it was - the Captain's log - daily logs of the crew. That's what started my whole "daily log" routine.
I've found that the quality of my "logs" go up if I don't do one every day because it's not every day I feel like spending 10-15 mins writing about my day. When I was writing every day it became a monotonous chore where I was listing off the things I did. When I write once or twice a week, I remember more, talk about thoughts, state of mind, etc...
I figure for the cost of 30 mins a few times a week - the relaxing (anti-stress) action is incredibly beneficial.