Why keep a journal locally? Privacy, offline access and backups
What keeping a journal on your device makes simpler, what it asks of you, and why a backup outside your phone matters.
A journal can start without an account
An offline journal lets you write and revisit saved memories without signing in to an online service. Saving a place or writing about an afternoon should not require building an online profile first. In the current Stops & Stories app, memories live in the app’s storage on your device. There is no registration step, developer-run memory cloud, or account you need to keep signed in.
That makes the first entry straightforward: open the app, choose a place if relevant, and write. It also makes an important limitation clear. If the developer does not hold a server copy of your journal, the developer cannot retrieve that journal after the only device containing it is lost or erased.
Local storage is a useful product choice, but it is not a substitute for a backup.
What local storage does—and does not—tell you
The storage location describes where the app keeps your memories. It does not mean every feature runs without a network connection. Map tiles, place search, location-name lookups, and navigation use the relevant map services. Emailing support or choosing an online destination in the system share sheet also involves services outside the app.
Nor does “local” guarantee absolute security. The device, its operating system, other people who can access it, and the way you handle exported files all matter. A complete explanation separates local journal storage from those other situations, rather than turning one word into a blanket promise. The privacy policy describes them individually.
The tradeoff is continuity
With a synced service, you usually expect another device to receive changes automatically. That is not how Stops & Stories currently works. A second installation is not automatically another view of the same journal, and restoring a backup does not merge two independent journals.
That can suit someone who wants a personal notebook without a developer-run account service. It also asks for a deliberate habit: make a recovery copy, choose where to keep it, and remember to update it. The app cannot turn an old backup into a copy of entries you added afterward.
A practical backup habit
Start with three moments when a backup is especially useful:
- After adding memories you would be upset to lose.
- Before changing phones, reinstalling the app, or clearing local data.
- After a period of regular use, so the recovery copy does not fall too far behind.
Export a full .stopsandstories backup from Me → Backup & Export. Save it through Files, then keep a copy outside the phone. A computer or an external drive works; a file service you choose can also be appropriate for your needs.
You may choose your own iCloud Drive destination in Files. That is file storage under your control and the provider’s terms. It does not mean the app is continuously syncing new memories to a Stops & Stories cloud. Check that the file has actually reached the destination you intended.
Keep recovery and reading separate
A full backup exists to restore data into the app. An HTML memory package exists to let you read the journal in a desktop browser after extracting the archive. Both can be useful, but only the full backup is the recovery file.
If you want a reading copy as well, keep the entire exported folder together. Moving only index.html without its media does not preserve the same experience. This comparison of journal backups and HTML exports explains which copy suits each situation.
A backup also contains personal material
Treat the exported file like the journal itself. It may contain private writing, companion names, locations, photos, and media metadata. Choose a storage location you trust. Keep it separate from anything you intend to send publicly, and do not attach a full backup to an ordinary support email.
If you restore on a new device, read the replacement warning first. Back up existing destination data before proceeding. A small amount of care at that point is more useful than discovering, after replacement, that two collections were never going to merge.
See Backup & export for the product details, or follow the backup and restore guide.