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Is Personal Diary Safe?

Personal Diary privacy label · by Wern Jie Lim · checked November 2026

  • Nothing linked to you
  • Collects location
App Privacy label Developer-reported · checked November 1, 2026
Used to track you
0types

None declared

Linked to you
0types

None declared

Not linked to you
3types
Short answer

On the label it is low-risk: Personal Diary collects some data but says none of it is linked to you or used for tracking. The sensitive items are location. In total the label lists 3 data types; 32% of journal & diary apps we checked declare tracking.

At a glance

Personal Diary privacy in one look

Data exposure on the label
Not linked to you
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.

Verdict from the label
Not linked to you

Personal Diary collects some data but says none of it is linked to your identity, and none is used for tracking.

Try it

Did Personal Diary ask for something?

Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Personal Diary's developer declared.

It asked me for access to…
Tap a prompt to compare it with the label.
Matches the label

Personal Diary lists Location on its label. Choose While Using and turn off Precise Location if the feature works without it.

Not on the label

User Content is not on Personal Diary's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.

Not on the label

Contacts is not on Personal Diary's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.

Not declared on the label

Personal Diary declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.

Not on the label

Health & Fitness is not on Personal Diary's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.

A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.

Line by line

What Personal Diary collects, explained

Data typeWhat it coversWhere to limit it
LocationSensitiveNot linked to you Where your phone is, either precisely (street level) or approximately (city or area). Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services: choose Never or While Using, and turn off Precise Location if the app does not need it.
Usage DataNot linked to you What you tap, open and view inside the app, plus which ads you have seen. There is no single iOS switch. Look for an analytics or personalised-ads toggle in the app's own settings.
DiagnosticsNot linked to you Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate.
Reading the label

What Personal Diary's label means for you

Personal Diary's label has 3 types under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.

Every type on Personal Diary's label is in the “not linked” section, so the developer says the data is stripped of anything that identifies you before it is used. That is typical of anonymous analytics and crash reporting. Not linked is still collected: the data leaves your phone.

The items that deserve the most attention are location. Location history reveals home, work and routines. Precise location deserves the most scrutiny.

Journals collect your private thoughts, moods and often your location and photos. A lock screen inside the app is not the same as encryption of the synced entries. Check whether entries sync to the developer's server and whether that sync is end-to-end encrypted; export your journal regularly.

Among the 173 journal & diary apps in our snapshot with a label, 32% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 21% say they collect nothing. Personal Diary lists 3 data types, about the same as the average of 2.9 for this group.

Lifestyle apps cover family, home and personal organisation, and often combine location, contacts and photos in one place.

On your iPhone

Settings to check for Personal Diary

  1. 1

    Location

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Personal Diary. Choose While Using or Never, and switch off Precise Location if a city-level answer is enough.

  2. 2

    Lock the app

    On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.

  3. 3

    Notifications

    Settings › Notifications › Personal Diary › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.

Cross-app tracking

Does Personal Diary track you?

No tracking declared

There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on Personal Diary's label.

Does Personal Diary track you? Full answer and how to stop it →

iOS 18 and later

Lock Personal Diary behind Face ID

  1. Find Personal Diary on your Home Screen or in App Library.
  2. Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
  3. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
  4. Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Personal Diary now asks for authentication every time it opens.

The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Personal Diary has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.

Lock or hide Personal Diary: step-by-step guide →

From the App Store record

About Personal Diary

DeveloperWern Jie Lim
App Store categoryLifestyle (also Utilities)
Latest version3.0.14, released November 2024
First releasedNovember 2015
RequiresiOS 12.0 or later
Size27 MB
Age rating4+
Languages1 (EN)
Bundle IDcom.limengtat.Diary

The current version shipped in November 2024, over a year before our snapshot. Older apps can lag behind iOS privacy features such as limited photo and contact access.

Read with care

What the label cannot tell you

  • A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Personal Diary sends.
  • It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
  • Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
  • Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
  • Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.

The question to ask Personal Diary's developer: Can anyone at the company read my entries?

How it compares

Personal Diary vs similar journal & diary apps

Data types listed on each App Store privacy label
Tracks youLinked to youNot linkedCollects nothing

Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.

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All journal & diary apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect location → Privacy label decoder →

Do it now

Your Personal Diary privacy checklist

Tick what you have done
Tick each step as you do it on your iPhone.

Done. You have applied every control the label points to.

Quick quiz

True or false?

  1. Q1Personal Diary's privacy label says it uses data to track you.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on Personal Diary's label.

  2. Q2Apple tests every app to confirm its privacy label is accurate.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.

  3. Q3Personal Diary collects Location.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    True: Location appears on its label, in the Not Linked to You section.

  4. Q4Data “Not Linked to You” is never sent off your iPhone.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.

  5. Q5Tapping “Ask App Not to Track” can stop an app from working.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.

Questions people ask

Personal Diary privacy FAQ

Is Personal Diary safe to use?
Based on its App Store privacy label, personal Diary collects some data but says none of it is linked to your identity, and none is used for tracking. Whether that is acceptable depends on what you will store in it. The label is developer-reported, not an independent security test.
Does Personal Diary track you?
No. Personal Diary's label has no Data Used to Track You section.
What data does Personal Diary collect?
Location, usage data and diagnostics. None of it is linked to your identity.
Who makes Personal Diary?
Wern Jie Lim, according to the App Store. It was first released in November 2015 and the current version is 3.0.14.
Can I lock Personal Diary with Face ID?
On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Personal Diary's icon and choose Require Face ID (or Touch ID / Passcode). This is an iPhone feature and works for most downloaded apps, whether or not the app has its own lock.
How does Personal Diary compare with other journal & diary apps?
Across 173 journal & diary apps with labels in our snapshot, 32% declare tracking and 21% say they collect no data. Personal Diary lists 3 data types against an average of 2.9.
Can anyone at the company read my entries?
The privacy label cannot answer that. Look for it in Personal Diary's privacy policy or support pages, linked from the App Store listing. Check whether entries sync to the developer's server and whether that sync is end-to-end encrypted; export your journal regularly.
How do I delete my data from Personal Diary?
Apps that let you create an account must also let you start account deletion from inside the app (an App Store rule since June 2022). Deleting the app from your iPhone alone does not delete data already sent to the developer.
Facts on this page come from Personal Diary on the App Store, as reported by the developer. Checked 2026-11-01. How we collect data · Report a correction