Day One, the super-popular journaling app for people who want their most important thoughts, experiences, and notes to be left to future generations, just got a huge update. Day One version 3.0 gets a whole new editor, plus audio recording and a bunch of other tweaks.
Ask any journalling nerd what app they use for their habit and you’ll often hear Day One. It’s popular, it works on Mac and iOS, and it has been around for a lot longer than the 3.0 version number might suggest. All these features helped make the previous version of Day One our favorite journaling app, but now it’s even better.
With most computer-based journals, it’s unlikely that they will outlast you by many years. More likely, your encrypted, password-protected iPhone will be wiped and passed on to a granddaughter — if you’re lucky — or just tossed into the recycling bin.
Even if your family manages to unlock your device, the information on it will need to be constantly tended lest it succumb to digital rot. Even then, future computers might not be able to open the files. You’re far better off using paper, and printing your photos, if you want them to last any longer than a few years.
Day One can actually do that through its Book Printing service, which is a neat workaround. (Day One books cost $19.99 for 50 color pages or $14.99 for black-and-white. The service is currently in beta on iOS but doesn’t work on Android.)
Photo: Day One
Day One makes journaling easy
All those caveats about digital journals aside, Day One is pretty great. And the new version makes it easier than ever to dump your thoughts into it.
You can now just tap into an entry and start typing, wherever you want the cursor to be. You can also add code blocks, which will be auto-detected and formatted. This is great if you regularly add snippets of code to your journal. (I kid: If you keep a developer’s journal for your programming projects, this is very useful.)
More interesting to a wider audience is the option to group photos into grids. You still can’t organize images in the app, but this keeps things a lot tidier.
Day One journaling app adds audio
Photo: Day One
The big news in Day One 3.0, though, is that you can now record audio clips directly into journal entries. These can be up to 30 minutes long for straight audio clips. Or you can choose to transcribe the clips into text, using Apple’s speech-recognition service. This option limits clips to one minute.
The Day One update brings other interface and feature tweaks, too, including checklists and dark mode. It looks like a solid update for current owners, and a good entry point for anyone not tempted by ink on paper (aka an actual legacy).
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Download: Day One from the App Store (iOS)
