5 Minute Journal・Daily Diary

After downloading a few journaling apps like mydiary, day one, evernote even, etc in search of one that is easy and quick to add my thoughts, I finally found the five minute journal. It was the one that fit my purpose best. My friend recommended as she has the physical diary from Five Minute Journal and is a big fan of the brand. She liked the method they use and told me about the app even though she isn't a user. I've got the subscription and have found the app extremely smooth to follow on a daily basis. Its a journal app so it's suppose to be simple and they've kept it that way. I've told her to give it a go and try the app herself, as she was the one that recommended it to me in first place, but she's just too much in love with having the actual diary and refused to test it....Anyway, I'm more of a tech person so the app suited my goal: reflecting daily and being grateful for the small to the big things that happen in liffe. Today I maintain a consistent journaling habit that I always wanted and that other tools didn't make it possible. I love the prompts the app offers, and I even added the quote of the day as a widget to my home screen, it's very cute and would be even cuter if it was a bit more colourful or if it changed colours every now and then. I've already referred the app to a few people. Thanks to my friend and to Five Minute team! Please keep updating this app so it never dies.

Objectively, the update is very nice. Considering the chaos of the unexpected and ill prepared update, the loss of access to my account for a week (experienced by many), and the removal of once included features now made premium by a subscription model…the update is pretty bad. I have been a user since 2016 and have adored this app, especially the feature of having a photo for each day. I have raved about it for years, even purchasing and gifting the app to friends. Without a doubt, before this update any review I left would be 5 stars. The developers should graciously show appreciation to longtime users, but currently they have not. In a similar situation years ago, a wellness app I cherished and had used since 2015 changed to a subscription model. In contrast, I opened the app to find I was automatically given a lifetime subscription as a token of appreciation. A page should be taken out of that book. $25 for a lifetime subscription as a longtime user I would consider, but what the current offer is…not so much. Once my one year free trial is expired I have no intention to pay monthly or yearly, even my almost 6 years of journaling could not convince me of that. In the meantime, I will be preparing to move to a different app or leave app based journaling completely. I’m so disheartened that the userbase is being treated this way because of greed by an app that is constructed around gratitude and mindfulness.

You can't put a price on mental wellbeing. I've struggled with horrible depression and anxiety my entire life. Without getting too into it, my husband and I were struggling and even though I take medication that helps, I'm still miserable. I downloaded (6) different 'gratitude journal' apps and disliked them all for a few reasons. Paid for this one, I've only been using it for three days and I love it. It's easily worth the $5 several million times over; no subscription is really cool. The layout and UI makes it easy for even the most depressed folks (like me) to be able to complete this easily and quickly and actually feel better. To me, the little things make this more enjoyable as well. It's easy to type and then press "enter" and it goes to the next number, and it's easy to add a photo. I'd like to be able to add two photos per day but the app is so fantastic the way it is. I usually know within the same day of downloading if I will continue to use an app. This one, I will for sure. Thanks for making it. You're helping people. ♥️