A private diary that starts on your device.
DiaryThreads keeps its core writing experience local, clear, and free from an audience.
Updated August 25, 2026
What does local-first mean here?
Your entries are stored locally first. Photos and videos stay in Photos and a protected app copy. Verified Premium users can sync eligible entries, media, favorites, imported text, and profile data through their private iCloud. DiaryThreads has no developer diary server, app account, advertising, or tracking SDK.
- Entries
- Local app storage on iPhone, iPad, or Mac
- Photos and video
- System Photos plus a protected app copy
- Premium iCloud Sync
- Available now for eligible diary data
- Voice recordings
- The DiaryThreads app container
- Diary account
- None
- Developer diary server
- None
- Ads and tracking SDKs
- None
Local-first is a product boundary
Version 1.1 treats each supported device as a local home for the diary. Writing, replies, quotes, favorites, imported text, search documents, calendar buckets, and analytics snapshots are derived from local app data.
DiaryThreads does not build a public profile or send diary entries to a developer-operated backend. The product remains useful without creating an account.
Media stays with the system that owns it
Library photos and videos remain in Photos. DiaryThreads keeps a protected app copy for reliable local fallback; Premium private iCloud sync can make that copy available for recovery across the user’s devices.
Voice recordings live in the app container because they are created as part of the diary. Camera captures are committed to Photos only when the active composer publishes them.
Privacy and recovery are different questions
Local storage limits routine exposure and keeps the diary independent from an account service. Recovery still depends on the user’s device, system backup choices, Photos settings, and the availability of the original media.
The product explains these boundaries in its privacy information so “local-first” remains a concrete data model rather than a vague slogan.
Questions about this topic
Does DiaryThreads upload entries to CloudKit?
Yes, after a verified Premium user confirms enabling it. Eligible diary content uses a dedicated private CloudKit zone in that Apple Account. Turning sync off pauses transfer, and deleting the dedicated zone keeps the local diary.
Does local-first mean my Photos settings are changed?
No. Photos and videos remain managed by the system Photos library and its existing user-controlled settings.
Can I use the app without an account?
Yes. DiaryThreads version 1.1 has no app account system.