Privacy in Journaling Apps: What to Look For (A Simple Checklist)

A journal is intimate. Whether you’re writing about relationships, work stress, or identity, the privacy bar should be higher than “trust us.”

This guide is a practical checklist you can use to evaluate any journaling app — especially if it has AI features.

Quick checklist (copy/paste)

Before you commit, check:

Do they use your content for ads or data selling?
Is your data used for AI training (and is there an opt-out)?
What’s the data retention policy (how long logs/backups exist)?
Do you have export and delete controls?
What security basics exist (encryption, access control, 2FA)?

1) AI training: “Does my journal train the model?”

This is the biggest question for AI journaling.

Ask:

Is journal content used to train the company’s models?
If they use third-party AI providers, is data retained or used for training?
Is there a clear, written policy?

If you want a deeper AI-specific explanation, see: Is AI Journaling Safe? The Truth About Your Private Data

2) Data retention: “How long do you keep my entries and logs?”

Many products keep:

backups
server logs
analytics events

Ask:

How long are backups retained?
What gets logged (titles, timestamps, content snippets)?
Can I request deletion beyond “account deleted”?

3) Export and deletion: “Can I leave cleanly?”

A privacy-respecting journal gives you an exit strategy:

export your data in a usable format (not screenshots)
delete your data permanently

Look for:

one-click export
a clear deletion process
a clear timeline (immediate vs delayed)

4) Encryption and access control (what you can reasonably expect)

At minimum, an app should protect data:

in transit (HTTPS)
at rest (encrypted storage)

If you want to go deeper, ask:

who can access production data internally?
is access audited?
is there an incident response process?

5) Business model: “Am I the customer, or the product?”

This is underrated. If a product is free and ad-supported, your data may be part of the business.

Ask:

is there advertising?
are there third-party trackers?
what data is shared with analytics vendors?

6) Account security basics

Minimum expectations:

strong password policy
secure authentication
protections against account takeover

Nice to have:

two-factor authentication (2FA)
device/session management

FAQ

Are journaling apps private by default?

Not necessarily. Privacy varies widely by product and business model.

Is a paper journal more private?

Sometimes, but paper can be lost, stolen, or read by someone close to you. Digital can be safe too if the app has strong privacy and security practices.

Try this in Refalio (1 minute)

Refalio is built to support honest journaling with privacy-first principles. If you’re comparing apps, start here:

Skim Refalio’s privacy policy: https://www.refalio.com/privacy
Then write one entry and see how guided reflection feels.

Try Refalio free: https://app.refalio.com/onboarding