The Quantified Mood
The Sealed Journal vs Daylio.
A chart of your moods, or a page for them.
Daylio made journaling nearly writing-free: tap a face for your mood, tap icons for your activities, and over months the app draws you charts — correlations, streaks, the statistical weather of your life. To its credit, it keeps that data largely on your device, which is more than most of its category can say.
But a mood chosen from five faces is an answer to a multiple-choice question, and some days are not multiple-choice. The thing you most need to record is usually the thing with no icon.
The Sealed Journal has no moods, no stats, no streaks — only sentences, which are slower and hold more. If the charts help you, Daylio is honest work. If the charts have started answering for you, the page is here.
The Facts, Side by Side
| Daylio | The Sealed Journal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier plus Premium subscription | One-time purchase |
| Current price | Premium: $4.99 / month · Premium (annual): $35.99 / year | One purchase: $24 (rising to $29) once |
| Free tier | Free tier with limited entries and features | No — a live demo, then one price |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | Any modern browser, any operating system |
| Account required | No — No account required | No — no account, ever |
| Cloud sync | Optional — Data stored on-device, with optional cloud backup (Drive / iCloud) | No sync, no server — a single offline HTML file |
| Encryption | Not a client-side passphrase model | AES-256-GCM client-side, PBKDF2 at 600,000 iterations |
On-device storage is genuinely better than most; backups rely on the cloud provider's encryption.
Daylio prices checked 11 August 2026. Source: daylio.net. If you find a figure out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
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
Aren't statistics useful for spotting patterns?
For behaviors — sleep, exercise, drinking — sometimes, yes. For meaning, the pattern tends to surface in your own written words long before it would show in a chart.
Can I still make quick, short entries?
Nothing stops a two-line entry. Nothing scores it, either.
Daylio stores data on-device. Isn't that as private as you?
It's genuinely better than most apps, and we'll say so. It's still an app-store app with optional cloud backups resting on the provider's encryption. Ours is a single file whose contents are ciphertext under a passphrase only you know.
More in Comparisons
See all →The Sealed Journal vs Reflectly.
One asks you questions. One waits for you to speak.
The Sealed Journal vs Day One.
Both are journals. They're built on opposite assumptions about where your writing should live.
The Sealed Journal vs journaling in Notion.
Notion is a brilliant tool for organising work. It is a strange place to put your inner life.
The Sealed Journal vs Apple Notes.
Apple Notes is the path of least resistance. The Sealed Journal is the path that takes the journaling seriously.
The Sealed Journal vs Obsidian for journaling.
Obsidian is for building a second brain. The Sealed Journal is for emptying the first one for a moment.
The Sealed Journal vs a paper notebook.
Paper is excellent. It also can't be locked, searched, or carried in the pocket of a thousand future devices.
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Core
A journal that doesn't track you. At all. Ever.
No analytics. No cookies. No third-party scripts. No "anonymous usage data." If you view the file source, you'll see for yourself.
For Writers
A diary app that treats you like an adult.
No mood faces. No streaks. No "how are we feeling today?" Just a passphrase and a page.
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.
Answers
Are journaling apps actually private?
A bedroom with the door ajar.
The cursor will be there when you return.
Centered. Blinking. Patient.
Start Writing