Answers
How to back up a journal no one else can read.
Not a cloud account — a routine.
A private journal concentrates risk in one place — your device — and the answer to that is not a cloud account; it's a routine.
The Sealed Journal exports your entire journal as an encrypted file. The export is sealed with the same passphrase-derived encryption as the journal itself, which means it is safe to store anywhere, including places you wouldn't trust with plaintext: a USB stick in a drawer, an external drive, even a cloud folder if that's what you have — the file is noise without your passphrase.
A routine that works: export once a week, or after any writing session that mattered. Keep two copies in two places — one near (a USB stick), one far (a drive at another address, or that cloud folder). Occasionally test one: open the export and confirm it unseals. A backup you've never restored is a hope, not a backup.
And one non-digital step: make sure your passphrase would survive you losing your memory of it — written down, stored physically, somewhere as safe as the journal deserves. The exports are worthless without it, which is precisely their virtue.
The Typewriter Experience
The cursor stays. The text moves.
In Write mode, your cursor remains exactly at the centre of the screen. The page rises up to meet it. Past words fade into soft shadow at the edges, leaving the present sentence in clear focus. Switch to Read mode and the entry flattens into an evenly lit document — the fade is for writing; the flat light is for returning.
Radical Privacy & Encryption
AES-256-GCM, in your browser, with a key only you derive.
- ·PBKDF2 key derivation at 600,000 iterations — the OWASP 2024 recommendation. Existing journals upgrade transparently on first unlock.
- ·No accounts, no telemetry, no analytics, no cookies, no third-party scripts.
- ·IndexedDB storage with a localStorage fallback. Encrypted before it touches the disk.
- ·The file is not minified. You can read the source. We'd rather you trust it than us.
What It Does Not Do
- ✕No word counts chasing you across the screen.
- ✕No formatting toolbar wrestling your thoughts into neatness.
- ✕No cloud sync. No distant servers. Your words stay yours.
- ✕No social sharing. Your vulnerability is not content.
- ✕No AI assistant finishing your sentences.
- ✕No streak counters. No guilt. No gamification.
- ✕No subscriptions. No mood trackers. No noise.
Licensing & Gift Copy
One purchase covers up to three of your personal devices. It also includes a second untouched copy of the file — meant to be given to one person you trust. Lifetime updates. 30-day, no-questions refund. If you run a clinic, school, or workplace and want a copy for everyone, ask us about a site licence.
One Purchase. Yours Forever.
The price is $24 today. It will become $29.
One-time payment
Get The Sealed JournalQuestions
Are exports readable by anyone who finds the file?
No. Exports are encrypted with your passphrase. Whoever finds the file finds noise.
Can I store an encrypted export in Dropbox or Google Drive?
Yes — this is the one arrangement where cloud storage is fine, because what you're storing is ciphertext, not your journal.
How often should I back up?
Weekly is plenty for most people. The real rule: export after anything you'd grieve losing.
More in Answers
See all →What happens to your journal when you die.
Whichever way you choose, choose.
How encrypted journaling actually works.
A short list of things you have to trust.
A journal that locks because it's encrypted, not because it asks nicely.
A curtain, or a key.
The diary with a lock, grown up.
The statement, and the substance.
Are journaling apps actually private?
A bedroom with the door ajar.
Can a digital journal be subpoenaed?
Architecture, not advice.
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Core
Your journal lives on your machine. Not someone else's.
No syncing, no servers, no "your data is safe with us." Local storage, encrypted, yours.
Use Cases
A journal that's just an HTML file.
Open it in any modern browser. That's the whole installation.
Core
A private, offline journal that asks nothing of you.
One file. One password. Yours forever. No accounts, no cloud, no algorithms reading your three-in-the-morning thoughts.
Core
An encrypted journal where the passphrase never leaves your device.
AES-256-GCM with PBKDF2 key derivation at 600,000 iterations — the OWASP 2024 recommendation. Done in your browser, not on a server.
The cursor will be there when you return.
Centered. Blinking. Patient.
Start Writing