Apple is prepping a new journaling app to let users compile their daily activities as part of its efforts in the market for mental and physical health technology, according to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Aaron Tilley for The Wall Street Journal:
The software will compete in a category of so-called journaling apps, such as Day One, which lets users track and record their activities and thoughts… In one document describing the app, Apple said journaling is shown to improve mental and physical well-being.
“It’s always the worst thing to have to hear that you’re about to be sherlocked,” said Paul Mayne, founder of the Day One app, when the Journal informed him of the company’s plans.
Apple’s app will have the ability to gather much more user data than Day One, providing access to text messages and phone calls, the documents show… The Apple journaling app, code-named Jurassic, is designed to help users keep track of their daily lives, according to the documents describing the software. The app will analyze the users’ behavior to determine what a typical day is like, including how much time is spent at home compared with elsewhere, and whether a certain day included something outside the norm, according to the documents.
A personalization feature will highlight potential topics for users to write about, such as a workout, the documents show. The app is expected to offer “All Day People Discovery” to detect a user’s physical proximity to other people, and Apple will seek to distinguish between friends outside work and colleagues.
In the documents, Apple said privacy and security will be central to the software’s design. The analysis of the user’s day will take place on-device, according to the documents. On-device data are generally not transmitted or shared. Journaling suggestions will remain in the system for four weeks. Afterward, they will be removed.
MacDailyNews Take: Day One et al. are about to get royally sherlocked.
Our little birdie says: “Jurassic will work on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.”
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