Guide

Online journal

An online journal, or digital diary, is a place on your phone or computer where you write a short entry each day. Look for three things: it is private, it is quick to open, and it reminds you. Free options exist, including the Daily Journal.

Updated 21 October 2026. Sources named on the page.

What an online journal is, in plain words
Five things to check before you pick one
What to write in the first week
Free to start, private by default

Every claim names its sourceNothing you type is savedFree, no sign upFor adults aged 19 and overPrivate by default

Daily Journal

Keep your results in the Daily Journal

Habits, food, mood and sleep in one private place, with progress charts and a daily research card. Free to start.

Every claim names its study
Alone, as a couple or with a group
Private by default

Paper or online: which suits you

Neither is better. It depends on where you will actually write.

A paper notebook against an online journal

	Paper notebook	Online journal
Open it	Find the book and a pen	One tap on your phone
Reminder	You remember	A notification can remind you
Privacy	Whoever finds the book	A password, and what the app shares
Search your past entries	Flick back through pages	Search and filters
Add food, sleep, mood or habits	Draw your own columns	Boxes already there
Cost	The price of a notebook	Free to paid, so check

Sources: General comparison written for this page

Written for this page. General information, not medical advice.

What an online journal is

An online journal is a notebook you keep on a screen. You write a few lines a day, and the app stores them so you can look back. A digital diary is the same thing under another name.

Five things to check before you choose one

Is it private by default? Who can read your entries, and can you choose? Can you open it in a few seconds? Does it remind you at a time you pick? Can you take your entries out if you leave? Choose the one that answers yes to most of these.

Not sure which tool you need?Ten examples, each with a worked screen and the prices of the paid apps.

See the ten tools

What to write in the first week

Keep it small. Write the date, one thing that happened, one feeling and one thing for tomorrow. If you do not know what to say, use a prompt: there are forty on this site, and a short guide to the format of a diary entry.

What the Daily Journal does

The Daily Journal is a free private journal with habits and streaks that allow rest days, food with kcal and kJ side by side, sleep and mood boxes, an exercise box on the Today page, a new Mantra card each day and reminders. It is private by default, and you share only if you choose, with one person at a time. The first three habits are free.

Your entries stay yours.Private by default, shared only with the people you choose.

Start a private journal

Keeping it private

Use a password only you know, and read what an app says about who can see your entries. Choose one that makes sharing a deliberate step, not a default.

Questions

What is an online journal?

A journal you keep on a phone or computer: a short entry a day, stored so you can look back at it.

Is an online journal private?

It depends on the app. Look for one that is private by default and makes sharing a choice. The Daily Journal is private by default.

What is the difference between a journal and a diary?

In everyday use, very little. A diary tends to record what happened and a journal tends to look at what it meant; many people do both on one page.

Is there a free online journal?

Yes. The Daily Journal is free to start, and the first three habits are free.

Keep going

Start a private online journal

Sign up free for the Daily Journal: a short entry a day, reminders, and habits, food, mood and sleep in one private place.