I recently found this app called Jour on the App store and decided to try it out to see if I like it or not.

First impression

My first impression, Jour's visual design and subtle animation were done nicely which definitely stands out among online journal apps. I like an onboarding flow that does not require sign up or sign in as mandatory and being able to explore the features of the app. Tapping through the onboarding flow that led me to write a journal, I got the idea of how this app works within 5 mins or less. The app asks you how I feel followed by some other questions based on what you select and guide you what to write. It seems to be a good user flow if you don’t know what to write or looking for some guide to start your journal from but also can be annoying if you just want to free write.

Features

I personally found it a bit annoying since I just wanted to write things out of my head without tapping so many buttons to get more questions. I failed to find an option for free writing even after going over almost all buttons on the app. It does not look like an app for you if you are looking for a place to write on your own and already have an idea what you want to write. The app design kind of pushes you to write however the app wants you to write and explore other features that it offers.

Jour comes with some other features than just writing journals which seems to be also the main features of the app. Most of them are paid features that I couldn’t explore without paying but a few of them showed me they are series of pre-made content that shows you how to write journal or sleep with a clear mind. For my experience of going through them, it feels like a slideshow version of Calm(the meditation app) that I have to tap through to write something at the end. In fact, there are a lot of overlaps on features that Calm and Jour offer.

Conclusion

I would give it a try if you are not happy with Calm, Headspace, or other meditations apps and see if you like it. On the other hand, if you are looking for an app to write journals, Jour might not be the app you are looking for.

Still looking for an online journal app to use?

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