By Harsh Vats, who makes WOYM · Updated 1 November 2026 · 4 min read
A Free Diary App
A private diary on your iPhone, with no account, no ads and no limit on entries.
A diary is the simplest habit there is: a few lines about your day, kept somewhere only you can read. A diary app should make that easier than a notebook, not harder. It should open fast, keep your entries private and not ask for your email or your card before you write a word.
That's what I built WOYM to be. Here is what's free, what isn't, and how it keeps your diary private.
What's free
Everything you need to keep a diary, with no time limit:
- Unlimited entries, with photos, videos and voice notes.
- A mood for each entry, so you can see how the month went at a glance.
- A writing streak and a reminder at the time you like to write.
- Daily and weekly habits and todos on the same Today screen.
- Search and tags, to find any day again.
- Memories: your entries on a calendar, as a grid of photos, or on a map of where you wrote them.
- App Lock with Face ID, your fingerprint or your passcode.
- Entry backgrounds, and light and dark mode.
A private diary, with no account
You don't sign up. The diary lives on your phone, and on the free plan it never leaves it. There are no ads, we don't sell data, and entries aren't read by us or used to train AI. Turn on App Lock and the app opens only with your face, fingerprint or passcode, so a borrowed phone doesn't mean a read diary. For the details, see the privacy policy, or the questions in what to check before you trust an online journal.
The one thing to know: with no account, the only copy is on your phone. If you delete the app or lose the phone, the diary goes with it. That's what Premium is for.
Start your diary today
Free on iPhone and iPad. No account, no ads, no limit on entries.
What Premium adds
Premium is optional. It backs your diary up and syncs it across your devices and the web, and adds sharing an entry with someone, dictation, Polish Writing, scanning a handwritten page, writing by hand with Apple Pencil, and importing from Apple Journal or Notion. On iPhone, Yearly starts with 3 days free. Prices for your country are in the pricing section.
Keeping a diary that lasts
Most diaries stop in February. A few things help: write at the same time each day, keep it to a few lines on busy days, and don't go back to fill in the days you missed. When nothing comes to mind, every new WOYM entry starts with a morning or evening question you can answer or delete, and there are more in our journal prompts. If you're new to it, read how to start a journal.
Questions people ask
Is WOYM really a free diary app?
Yes. Unlimited entries with photos, videos and audio, a mood on each entry, habits, todos, the writing streak and App Lock are free, with no time limit and no ads. Premium is optional and adds backup and sync, the web version, sharing and the AI features.
Do I need an account to use the diary?
No. Open the app and write. Your diary stays on your phone until you decide to back it up with Premium.
Can anyone else read my diary?
Only if you share an entry with them. On the free plan your diary never leaves your phone, and App Lock opens it only with Face ID, your fingerprint or your passcode.
Is there a diary app with a lock for iPhone?
WOYM has App Lock built in and free: turn it on in Settings and the diary opens only with Face ID or your passcode.
What's the difference between a diary and a journal?
Not much. A diary usually records what happened each day; a journal is more often about thoughts and reflection. WOYM works for both: write a line about your day, or a page about what's on your mind.