The Journal That Interviews You
The Sealed Journal vs Reflectly.
One asks you questions. One waits for you to speak.
Reflectly calls itself an AI-powered companion: it asks how your day was, offers sliders for your mood, serves quotes and encouragement, and shapes your answers into a colorful record. For someone who has never journaled, being asked a question can genuinely help you begin.
But an interview is led by the interviewer. Prompted writing produces answers; unprompted writing produces discoveries — and only one of those was worth locking up. Meanwhile, an app whose intelligence comes from reading your entries is, definitionally, reading your entries.
The Sealed Journal asks nothing. No prompts, no sliders, no quotes, no model reading your writing to generate insights about you. A cursor, centered and patient, until you have something to say. The silence is the method.
The Facts, Side by Side
| Reflectly | The Sealed Journal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier plus Premium subscription | One-time purchase |
| Current price | Premium (iOS): $9.99 / month · Premium (iOS, annual): $59.99 / year · Premium (Android, annual): ~$19.99 / year | One purchase: $24 (rising to $29) once |
| Free tier | Free tier with limited features | No — a live demo, then one price |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | Any modern browser, any operating system |
| Account required | Yes — Account required | No — no account, ever |
| Cloud sync | Required — AI-guided prompts read entries to generate insights | 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 |
iOS and Android prices differ substantially.
Reflectly prices checked 11 August 2026. Source: apps.apple.com. If you find a figure out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.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
I don't know what to write without a prompt.
Sit with the blinking cursor for one uncomfortable minute. Something under the surface shows up — it always does. That minute is the practice; a prompt would have talked over it.
Does anything read my entries?
Nothing and no one. Not for insights, not for training, not for features. Entries are encrypted with your passphrase before they reach the disk.
What replaces the streaks and encouragement?
Nothing, and that's the honest answer. Streaks lend you motivation at interest. The practice, once it's yours, pays for itself.
More in Comparisons
See all →The Sealed Journal vs Daylio.
A chart of your moods, or a page for them.
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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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