Voice logs that transcribe themselves on device. Swipe up for your activity, or keep it on your home screen. Plus a drag-to-nest editor for your timelines.
ZenJournal is a fast, private journal built around calm, frictionless writing.
Open the app and start logging. Speak it, type it, or snap it. Search with ?, organize with #hashtags, and switch between timelines for life, work, travel, ideas, or anything else you want to keep separate.
ZenJournal keeps journaling simple:
- Fast timeline-first writing
- Voice logs with on-device transcription, so your audio never leaves your phone
- Photos attached to any entry
- Export in Paper, Ink, and Warm styles as an image, PDF, TextBundle, or text
- Separate timelines for separate parts of your life
- iCloud sync across your devices
- Discreet Mode to blur your logs in public
- Face ID and Touch ID lock
- #hashtags and ? search built into the same input
- Backup and restore
- Dark mode and light mode support
Use ZenJournal for stream-of-consciousness writing, morning pages, private notes, ideas, memories, travel logs, work reflections, or a calmer alternative to noisy feeds.
ZenJournal is free to use, with unlimited logs and two timelines. Zen Pro adds photo and voice logs, on-device transcription, PDF and TextBundle export, and as many timelines as you need. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.
Privacy Policy:
https://thezenjournal.com/posts/privacy-policy
Terms of Service:
https://thezenjournal.com/posts/terms
ZenJournal is my new favourite app. A linear but perfectly searchable notepad. I have no idea if I’m using it as intended but I keep both important memories, progress reports and mundane notes side-by-side, because why not? I don’t want the overhead of managing a notes app, I just want to get my thoughts down and timestamped. ZenJournal does exactly that. Wishlist for the future: nothing! Well, a desktop app and auto-backup would be amazing, but in terms of features, it’s just the right level of Zen. Nothing else needed.
Developer Response
Thanks so much for the shoutout! So glad it is helping you and that’s exactly how I use it: just dump whatever comes into my mind into it. I pray adding photo logs with next version won’t bother you too much. 🙏 😄
Love it!
D3x3E
I signed up for the newsletter when you posted your ad for the app in /r/privacy. It is great as of now and functions as it should. Its also surprisingly small for what potential it has I have just started using it so I will update this review if anything changes. Im still waiting for the encryption though, would be a nice thing to have
Developer Response
Thank you for your kind words. I hope it’s still sticking after five month... if not, please check back for the new updates.
I love this app but…
dereila20
I’ve been using this app for a couple of years and it’s the only app that really invites me to write with no distractions. However I’m missing that you can choose the date and time for an entry. I have texts all over the place, sometimes I want to add something it happened a couple of days ago and I would like to have it in the right place. Please look into changing this and I’ll give 5 stars 💛
Developer Response
Sorry about the late reply. We just added edit feature. I’ll watch for more echos of similar request.
Great free form journal
mrwaspy
fantastic app for jotting down daily thoughts on the go. It would be great to have the option to have a prompt function with push notifications if you want to go though periods where you answer specific questions every day, eg ‘what is my intention for today’ and ‘what am I grateful for today’?
Developer Response
Thanks for the kind words! And the feature suggestion. I like it! I’m going to put that on the ideas board and see if I hear more echos from other users.
Voice logs, an activity chart, home screen widgets, and a real editor for your timelines.
Talk instead of typing
- Record a voice log right in the input, without leaving your timeline. Scrub the waveform, pause and resume mid-thought, or discard and start over.
- Transcription happens on device, in the language you actually speak, and the words land in your timeline the moment you stop. The audio never leaves your iPhone.
- Copy the transcript from any recording.
See every day you showed up
- Swipe up from the input for a chart of your activity. Not a streak counter, just the shape of your months.
- Put the Activity widget on your home screen, small or medium. Tap a day and the app opens right there.
- With Lock Mode on, the widget stays put and shows the shape without a single word.
Timeline Garden
- Your timelines are now a tree you can tend. Drag a bubble onto another to nest it, tap to rename, reorder, or remove. Entries in a removed timeline are kept and stay searchable in All.
Also new
- A share extension: send text, links, or photos from any app straight into a timeline.
- New photo and camera cards for attaching images.
- Journal reminders as real notifications, with the frequency set in Settings.
- A guided first run that lets you try each feature instead of reading about it. Replay it any time from Settings.
- Discreet Mode keeps dates and times readable so you can still find your way around, and Copy and Share ask you to unlock first when Lock Mode is on.
- Haptics across capture, save, and selection.
Zen Pro has new pricing, and every plan now starts with a 7-day free trial. If you already subscribe, your price stays exactly as it was.
Version 5.4.0
The developer, Shaomeng Zhang, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
Supported Features
VoiceOver
Voice Control
Larger Text
Dark Interface
Differentiate Without Colour Alone
Sufficient Contrast
Information
Provider
IdealistSpace Inc
Size
19.9 MB
Category
Health & Fitness
Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 26.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 26.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Apple Vision Requires visionOS 26.0 or later.
Languages
English and 8 more
English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese