Diary Software?

October 9, 2021 7:41 AM

I’m ready to get off Facebook, but I need something that will replace the Must Have functionality for me - diary software that will let me 1) include pictures, 2) that I can write to from a windows machine AND an iOS device, and 3) will present me every day with what I wrote on that date in years past. Beyond those three things, I have no other requirements. It doesn’t need to be slick or pretty or free. Ideally I could buy it once instead of it being a subscription, but I would even consider a subscription service.

If I can email entries or upload to a web service, it doesn’t need to have a dedicated app or software, but I would very much like to have a local copy and not just have it exist in the cloud. But it really does need to be somewhat frictionless between devices because I’m about 50/50 writing on computer and phone.

I’m willing to consider things that only hit two of the three - as long as one of them is the On This Day function. That alone will keep me on FB.

posted by Bottlecap to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

google photos has started showing me pictures that I took on this day in previous years, so they now have that functionality. They don't have a dedicated spot for writing, but there is a spot to put a "description" under the date of the photo, so if you didn't mind writing there it would work. It doesn't seem GREAT to me though, so I hope someone else has a better idea for you! :)
posted by euphoria066 at 8:56 AM on October 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Prosebox.net does this, although it doesn’t save locally automatically you can download your entries manually.
posted by Fuego at 9:14 AM on October 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Day One has photos and “On This Day” but the desktop app is macOS only https://dayoneapp.com/features/
posted by icebergs at 9:54 AM on October 9, 2021 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Came in to say Day One as well. You might be able to get away with the free ad supported version. With the premium version (subscription unfortunately) you can email to your journal. That would take care of the Windows thing.
posted by kathrynm at 2:18 PM on October 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'm not familiar with the 'On This Day' function of Facebook but right now I only use it in the browser, is this an app-only function? Is it available in the Windows FB app (as opposed to in a browser on Windows)?
posted by TimHare at 8:47 PM on October 9, 2021

Hmmm... Not specifically a diary app, but Evernote will record both creation date and modified date, and lets you attach anything, not jus pictures. It also makes the text in pictures searchable, usually.
posted by kschang at 3:50 AM on October 10, 2021

I'm not familiar with the 'On This Day' ...

In the browser, it's the "Memories" link in the left column.
posted by COD at 8:53 AM on October 10, 2021

Response by poster: Day One definitely meets my needs! Including being able to back date entries so I can pull things in from previous years as they cycle up. Being able to email entries meets my needs in terms of desktop. Thank you!
posted by Bottlecap at 10:11 AM on October 12, 2021