Review Insights · App Store
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary
Bloom Built Inc · 117,049 ratings · ★ 4.8
4.8
★★★★★
117,049 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 36 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"features"
11 negative reviews mention this · 31% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Used to be good, now AI slop + in your face premium features. If you don't mind constant popups begging you to pay them money to have the basic human right to change your color scheme, and don't mind how for some reason they too, are shoving AI features in your face you can just barely turn off, Then …" - xxFlyingGoriliaLover69xx
2
"entries"
10 negative reviews mention this · 28% of all complaints
★★★★★ "AI Too expensive. Your AI feature is nice, but it’s way too expensive! Other journals offer similar features for much less, or there are other options that can generate the same results without the high price. After many years of unwavering loyalty as a p…" - Lunacy15
3
"journal"
10 negative reviews mention this · 28% of all complaints
★★★★★ "AI Too expensive. Your AI feature is nice, but it’s way too expensive! Other journals offer similar features for much less, or there are other options that can generate the same results without the high price. After many years of unwavering loyalty as a p…" - Lunacy15
4
"been"
10 negative reviews mention this · 28% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Why charge a lot more for what was included in premium?. I really liked Day One. I’ve had it for over five years. They recently included some Ai features that were included in my premium service. You could generate AI IMAGES from your entries, get prompts, and some great summaries for your entri…" - mamacha
5
"into"
9 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Enjoying the update. I too was originally skeptical of being forced into their sync system. I read their terms of service and frankly some of the language was frightening, but I had a couple email exchanges with their extremely responsive customer service and …" - Jay from Pasadena
6
"years"
8 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "AI Too expensive. Your AI feature is nice, but it’s way too expensive! Other journals offer similar features for much less, or there are other options that can generate the same results without the high price. After many years of unwavering loyalty as a p…" - Lunacy15
7
"update"
8 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Time to move on. OG user. Now its all about the subscription. Really have reached my limit with this app paid user from the beginning they had no grandfathering when they went to the annoying and oh so tired subscription model and now every time I do anything, it’s a prompt for a subscription. I’m jus…" - bbatcat
8
"price"
6 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "AI Too expensive. Your AI feature is nice, but it’s way too expensive! Other journals offer similar features for much less, or there are other options that can generate the same results without the high price. After many years of unwavering loyalty as a p…" - Lunacy15
9
"subscription"
6 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "AI Slop. I pay for a Silver subscription. I don’t care about AI and I don’t want to be constantly pestered to ‘upgrade’ to the Gold plan. This app is now garbage. You’ve ruined it. I have unsubscribed. Good riddance. In response to the developer: i…" - Sanngar
10
"since"
6 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Enjoying the update. I too was originally skeptical of being forced into their sync system. I read their terms of service and frankly some of the language was frightening, but I had a couple email exchanges with their extremely responsive customer service and …" - Jay from Pasadena
11
"money"
5 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Used to be good, now AI slop + in your face premium features. If you don't mind constant popups begging you to pay them money to have the basic human right to change your color scheme, and don't mind how for some reason they too, are shoving AI features in your face you can just barely turn off, Then …" - xxFlyingGoriliaLover69xx
12
"anything"
5 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Used to be good, now AI slop + in your face premium features. If you don't mind constant popups begging you to pay them money to have the basic human right to change your color scheme, and don't mind how for some reason they too, are shoving AI features in your face you can just barely turn off, Then …" - xxFlyingGoriliaLover69xx
📋 All 36 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Used to be good, now AI slop + in your face premium features
If you don't mind constant popups begging you to pay them money to have the basic human right to change your color scheme, and don't mind how for some reason they too, are shoving AI features in your face you can just barely turn off,
Then this app is great.
But for anyone else, it's grown to be unusable. And with the way the modern internet is, it probably won't ever show you this review because they withhold information to hold more power over you.
If you have to take away anything let it be this, stay true to yourself and don't let any screens or technology affect you. Learn to rely on yourself and learn the real truth that they hide from you to make more money. They control your screens now, and if you let the screens influence you, they control your mind, and the worlds mind to.
Spread the word.
Then this app is great.
But for anyone else, it's grown to be unusable. And with the way the modern internet is, it probably won't ever show you this review because they withhold information to hold more power over you.
If you have to take away anything let it be this, stay true to yourself and don't let any screens or technology affect you. Learn to rely on yourself and learn the real truth that they hide from you to make more money. They control your screens now, and if you let the screens influence you, they control your mind, and the worlds mind to.
Spread the word.
AI Slop
I pay for a Silver subscription. I don’t care about AI and I don’t want to be constantly pestered to ‘upgrade’ to the Gold plan. This app is now garbage. You’ve ruined it. I have unsubscribed. Good riddance.
In response to the developer: it’s too late. You’ve lost a paying customer for life. Stupid decisions have consequences.
In response to the developer: it’s too late. You’ve lost a paying customer for life. Stupid decisions have consequences.
Can’t access the free journal anymore
Now the screen shows up as Buy or no longer being able to access the basic version? This is not nice at all
Why charge a lot more for what was included in premium?
I really liked Day One. I’ve had it for over five years. They recently included some Ai features that were included in my premium service. You could generate AI IMAGES from your entries, get prompts, and some great summaries for your entries., I had really been enjoying this new addition to DayOne. UNTIL TONIGHT- when those features were suddenly
🚫removed 🚫 from my premium membership ! NOW they made a new membership level that costs more and if you want those previously included in Premium, you have to upgrade to Silver. It really stinks that I received the AI features for a short time only to have Day One take them away. I am strongly thinking of canceling my over 5 year old membership and looking for another journaling app. Thanks a lot,DayOne. 👎🏽
🚫removed 🚫 from my premium membership ! NOW they made a new membership level that costs more and if you want those previously included in Premium, you have to upgrade to Silver. It really stinks that I received the AI features for a short time only to have Day One take them away. I am strongly thinking of canceling my over 5 year old membership and looking for another journaling app. Thanks a lot,DayOne. 👎🏽
Unorganized and complicated
Your app sucks. Where’s the calendar?! So many options I can never find the only thing I need the screen with the calendar. So many options it’s so unorganized i can’t find anything! And everytime I try to enter something for yesterday it will write a new entry for today. No I clearly clicked on yesterday. Your app is so fkn annoying. Unessary complicated. Instead of my giant calendar I have to keep fkn scrolling by each day and it doesn’t even automatically show what I wrote it shows a bunch of pictures of my camera roll of options to put in… like just show me what I wrote nice and easy and quick. Instead it’s all a fkn migraine. So fkn unorganized and annoying. I’ve been using this for weeks and I still can’t get the hang of it . I hate this app. Used to be a big screen of a big calendar and u can click on the day.. where did it go?!! Why am I scrolling day by day?! Is it gone?!
From 5 ⭐️to No More
Functionality LOST with Apple’s updates from April, May and June. Was holding out hope until the June update. Now more grief than when I began journaling. Years of archiving my journey with a rare disease for my daughter and those who come afterwards was healing and empowering. Now I cannot even open years of work. Evil overlords for the win again. Go tech bros. Thanks.
used to love this app but its wayyyy to expensive now? and not even any options to do pay monthly
i paid $10 or so for the old version of this app. each year the price is more and more expensive. $10/lifetime, then $4/per month, then $8, then $12, now the only option is $75 yearly?! sad to have to find an alternative
Complete money grab
all the basic features are hidden behind pay walls. You can’t even put it two images in the same notes without paying on top of that the prices are egregious $74 a month I believe. It didn’t seem to me because the app is very basic. You can find way better app for free doing the same thing for much better results I will be copying and pasting a few notes that I have in here into my new Notes app and will be deleting as soon as possible😭
How do I get my money back???
I started a free 30 day trial about 5 minutes ago but I was immediately charged for a full year. I’ve already gone into subscriptions and cancelled.
HOW DO I GET MY MONEY BACK????
Very deceptive and dishonest practice!!
HOW DO I GET MY MONEY BACK????
Very deceptive and dishonest practice!!
User since 2012
They’ve added new AI functionality, and despite it being on a plan I don’t pay for, and despite this being functionality I would never use in a personal journal - there’s no way to turn it off. It’s always sitting there, waiting for you to accidentally hit it.
Bad
App won't update at all no matter the wifi, can't delete it because it won't update.
Be Ware of the duplicate charges
I wanted this app to sync between my iPhone and MacBook so I purchased the subscription. They’ve charged me twice for the same subscription. They agree it’s the same but they blame Apple. When I reach out to Apple they blame Dayone for having different ID numbers for the same subscription as a result reading as two different items. I have wasted so much time trying to get a refund and I have no recourse. I am very unhappy having spent $100 for something so simple. I should have just used Google Docs. They need to do better.
AI reading entries! Why? Since when??!?
Private features gone after 3.5 year streak break .
App crashes. Can’t use it
The app crashes 2 seconds after I open it. Only started happening after the latest update. Never had an issue before.
Trust Is Lost
I know the AI garbage is "opt-in" (for now) but I do not trust that it won't eventually work it's way into my private information. I mean they're using OpenAI, a company that's as sketchy as they come and I would never trust with anything! I've been using Day One since it was released but now I'm done. I cannot trust Day One's keepers anymore. I can't believe Paul & Co would think throwing AI into a journal app is an acceptable path to take. I knew the acquisition by Automattic would eventually lead to a terrible decision. I'll be exporting and letting my membership expire at the end of next month. What a bummer...
Ai & price jump
The recent new update made me very unsatisfied. Been using the app for a few years and I loved it, but after the new update they ruined it. Why do they have to add AI for. To make it worse the button to use AI is everywhere in the app without a way to turn them off. The final nail in the coffin was the price jump. Why $35 to $50. Seriously? Sad they are going this route.
AI
I’m done with apps that shove AI down our throats.
Daily user since 2014 Now Looking for an alternative
Writing this review on behalf of my mom. She was a longtime user of this app since 2014. But the iOS glass or update has ruined everything. Her older entries aren’t here. It’s missing so much. It’s a disaster in every single way. Thank god she has older devices where she can still access the older version of the app. I regret getting her a new phone. She’s so upset. And she pays for gold. This is a nightmare.
Paying User since March ‘11 Launch
Your arrogance in pushing all to Gold, without a hint of permission, tells us who you are at your core. Likewise, your AI delusions of grandeur confirm who is, and is not, in the room as you cement decisions. Translation → I defy anyone to tap the Create an Entry image, using ANY of its type choices, and come up with something that does NOT shout #OscarsSoWhite. It’s a well known problem, arrested only by the intelligent. Eg Download MindSera’s trial, play around in it, and notice their gentle yet effective taming mechanism. WordPress people, this you can NOT blame on Apple. YOU chose your coding. YOU chose to remain blind. Anything with your name on it now joins the Target list.
Forcing ai into the compose view
There’s a new ai button in the compose view that can’t be hidden. I’ve been a paying subscriber for a decade but I’ll migrate all my notes soon if there’s no option to hide it. I appreciate that all the ai features are opt in but now I am constantly reminded that they exist. Sad.
Latest update completely fried it
I’ve used Day One for years. Over the last few weeks, the typing became very laggy, almost to the point of not being usable. Then, today, it attempted to update, but is stuck halfway downloaded. I am unable to either delete the app or cancel the download, so I have no access to it at all. I’m disappointed, as this has been my favorite app. Please fix it quickly!
Going from five stars to one star
Day One is using AI to upsell sloppy features that are just plain risky to use. AI in my journals? Hell no. You lost my trust and respect by automatically turning on AI features.
Why is there AI??
Extremely disappointed with Day One and Automattic for the integration of AI into the app. I loved this app for years, but shoehorning in the AI features with a price hike was a dealbreaker. No longer subscribed, and moving to text edit.
memories brokener
bad app,evil company
AI Too expensive
Your AI feature is nice, but it’s way too expensive! Other journals offer similar features for much less, or there are other options that can generate the same results without the high price.
After many years of unwavering loyalty as a premium customer, I’m now feeling trapped and slided by your pricing strategy. While it is incredibly challenging to export my entries to another app, I may start searching for other options. I genuinely hope you’ll consider a reasonable reduction in your pricing structure before I’m forced to make this difficult change.
After many years of unwavering loyalty as a premium customer, I’m now feeling trapped and slided by your pricing strategy. While it is incredibly challenging to export my entries to another app, I may start searching for other options. I genuinely hope you’ll consider a reasonable reduction in your pricing structure before I’m forced to make this difficult change.
IOS app not working
I’m unable to access the journal from the list screen and I’m unable to add photos to entries.
Time to move on. OG user. Now its all about the subscription
Really have reached my limit with this app paid user from the beginning they had no grandfathering when they went to the annoying and oh so tired subscription model and now every time I do anything, it’s a prompt for a subscription. I’m just gonna move to the free apple journaling app I’m over it. They just care about money. Updates have been useless things like group chat. I am not interested.
Enjoying the update
I too was originally skeptical of being forced into their sync system. I read their terms of service and frankly some of the language was frightening, but I had a couple email exchanges with their extremely responsive customer service and I was satisfied they could not use my private entries in the future. I've been using for two months now and their sync service is fantastic. I had period issues with iCloud with Day One Classic, but I've never had an issue so far syncing between my iMac, iPhone, and iPad.
The bottom line is that for YEARS I struggled to consistently journal - since getting Dayone in 2012, and now Dayone 2 - I journal more than I have in my entire life. It is awesome for capturing moments and recording my life. I know some day there won't be a price you can put on having these entries. It's so easy to capture photos in DayOne 2 and being able to have multiple photos in an entry is awesome.
If your nervous about their sync, just read the news, it's a risk we all take using the cloud, but to me the trade off is that I'm building a lifetime of memories with this app.
Update MANY years later - I wrote the above a long time ago. I’ve been using this app daily and haven’t missed a day since 2015. The new conversation element is amazing to me. It helps me journal throughout the day more instead of trying to remember the whole day. Quite frankly the AI asks some very insightful questions that help me go deeper and have really improved my entries. I’m hoping eventually they will add the ability to use AI to “converse” with your older entires like “hey how did I handle this previously . . . “.
UPDATE 6/11/2026 - after giving original plus members (I’ve been using the journal since 2012) the daily chat for about the last 8 months the tiers changed with no notice or warning. Went to use it today and see now I’m “silver” and have to upgrade to use it. I get it, apps need to make money but it’s a shame is the same old methods - hook you on the service for some indefinite period of time then take it away. Not a lot of loyalty for long time subscribers. I feel like that is disappointing. Even changing the tiers and not keeping it the same. Might be time to look for other options or use apples.
Really a shame they just don’t have as much loyalty toward their subscribers and users that have been here since well Day One. Pun intended. Their latest bait and switch on features I just thought was a really poor thing to do. Gave the use of chat for like 8 months then raised the price of the tier I was on and decided to take away the features. I was using the chat in beta. Very disappointed and a little sad to have to login for another option.
The bottom line is that for YEARS I struggled to consistently journal - since getting Dayone in 2012, and now Dayone 2 - I journal more than I have in my entire life. It is awesome for capturing moments and recording my life. I know some day there won't be a price you can put on having these entries. It's so easy to capture photos in DayOne 2 and being able to have multiple photos in an entry is awesome.
If your nervous about their sync, just read the news, it's a risk we all take using the cloud, but to me the trade off is that I'm building a lifetime of memories with this app.
Update MANY years later - I wrote the above a long time ago. I’ve been using this app daily and haven’t missed a day since 2015. The new conversation element is amazing to me. It helps me journal throughout the day more instead of trying to remember the whole day. Quite frankly the AI asks some very insightful questions that help me go deeper and have really improved my entries. I’m hoping eventually they will add the ability to use AI to “converse” with your older entires like “hey how did I handle this previously . . . “.
UPDATE 6/11/2026 - after giving original plus members (I’ve been using the journal since 2012) the daily chat for about the last 8 months the tiers changed with no notice or warning. Went to use it today and see now I’m “silver” and have to upgrade to use it. I get it, apps need to make money but it’s a shame is the same old methods - hook you on the service for some indefinite period of time then take it away. Not a lot of loyalty for long time subscribers. I feel like that is disappointing. Even changing the tiers and not keeping it the same. Might be time to look for other options or use apples.
Really a shame they just don’t have as much loyalty toward their subscribers and users that have been here since well Day One. Pun intended. Their latest bait and switch on features I just thought was a really poor thing to do. Gave the use of chat for like 8 months then raised the price of the tier I was on and decided to take away the features. I was using the chat in beta. Very disappointed and a little sad to have to login for another option.
Forever bound to the subscription
Great journal app, but if you ever stop paying for the subscription you are no longer able to access all the journal entries you made while paying for it. This is atrociously wrong to do to customers.
Not a good ui
There are some parts of the software that are really great like the ability to send photos to the journal. But the interface on an iPhone is abysmal if you have a long journal. It’s constantly bringing you to the top and you have to scroll all the way down to get to earlier entries. And if you delete an entry it again brings you to the top you have to scroll back down to the bottom entry you open will also bring you back to the top. It’s so incredibly frustrating!!
Be warned, company pushing their AI filled Gold Tier hard
I've liked the app a lot - nice intuitive format, and very easy to use if you like to add photos and screenshots directly into your journal entries. But the prices are increasing, and it has gone full Team A.I. - they are pushing the a.i. features hard and defaulting people with paid subscriptions to the highest tier "gold" subscriptions that include it. Not a happy camper. Prior to the a.i. stuff, I'd have given this app five stars.
Price point!
Although I love this app, and have found it better than most, it’s entirely too expensive for a one-time subscription.
Not everything needs AI, especially this app
The LAST thing we need is our most personal and private thoughts fed into and training AI. What a violation of privacy. Some of us keep analog habits such as journaling to distance ourselves from the over-hyped AI glorification and now this app has succumbed. I’ll be looking for alternatives.
No lined templates
Waste of a half an hour trying to set up the app and find an actual page to journal. I should not have assumed that, because it allows handwritten entries, the app has templates that support that.
Now pushing AI into journaling
I have used and paid for DayOne for several years. It had everything I wanted from a journaling app. Recently AI has been introduced into it. Even with AI features toggled ‘off’, the app pushes suggestions to use AI and attempts to upsell you to the highest subscription plan that uses AI. Even if I am to attempt to disregard the moral, ethical, and environmental layers against AI and just use the app I pay for; well- DayOne will keep encouraging me to have AI journal FOR me whenever I open it. What is the point of journaling if I were to ask AI to think for me? I’m really supposed to WANT my most private thoughts introduced to AI summaries? It’s insane. I will not be renewing and I will be sure to delete my DayOne account ASAP.
i used to love this app so much.
after the ios glass update this app has been a laggy unusable mess, i have periods of time where i can’t even the open the app without it crashing, or not being able to open at all. i miss when this app was simple to use and able to sync across multiple devices for free.
Sentiment summary
97%
Positive (4-5★)
1%
Neutral (3★)
1%
Negative (1-2★)