Private and shared journal for iPhone
Write it down with the people who were there.
Your camera roll remembers what it looked like. Maila keeps what it felt like. Type or write with Apple Pencil, draw on the page, add photos and voice notes, and choose which journals stay yours and which you keep together.
Coming soon to the App Store
- No account to make
- No ads, no tracking
- Syncs through your iCloud
Seaside, finally
We drove down after work and made it right as the sun dropped. Got fries from the stand by the pier.
Just meJust themTogetherHow sharing works
The icon is the whole idea.
Just me
Your own journals. Nobody else can see them, ever. Your default journal is always private and can't be shared.
Together
Journals you share with the people you invite. Everyone can add entries, and everyone sees the same pages.
Just them
The private journals of the people you invite stay private to them. Sharing one journal never opens up the rest.
Features
Everything you'd put in a paper journal, and a few things you couldn't.
Pencil and keyboard
Write with Apple Pencil and it turns into text, or draw right on the page.
Photos in the page
Drop photos right where they belong in the story, not in a separate gallery.
Voice notes
Some things are better said out loud. Record them into the entry.
Places
Tag where it happened and see your entries on a map later.
Shared journals
Share a journal through iCloud and invite people from Messages, Mail or anywhere you share. They write in it from their own iPhone.
On This Day
See what you wrote a year ago today, and what they wrote too.
Locked with Face ID
Lock the app with Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode, so a borrowed phone doesn't mean an open journal.
Muse
Writing prompts and look-backs drawn from your own entries, generated on your iPhone with Apple Intelligence. Without it, you get built-in writing ideas. You can turn Muse off.
Also in the box: 7 themes plus a Custom one, a Stats screen, search, and a layout that adapts when a foldable iPhone opens or closes.
How it works
Three steps, no sign-up.
Start a journal
Open Maila and start writing. Your default journal is private and stays that way.
Invite someone
Make a new journal and invite people through iCloud sharing, from Messages, Mail or anywhere you share. They need an iPhone with Maila, signed in to iCloud.
Write together
Entries from everyone show up in the same journal, on everyone's phone, through iCloud.
Privacy
I can't read your journal. There's nowhere for it to go.
Maila has no servers of its own, no accounts, no analytics and no ads, and nothing is sent to me unless you choose to email it. Your entries go from your iPhone to your own iCloud, and to the iCloud of the people you share a journal with. Muse runs on your iPhone, so your writing isn't sent anywhere to generate it. Place search and map snapshots use Apple Maps.
FAQ
Questions people ask.
Does everyone I share with need Maila?
Yes. Each person needs an iPhone with Maila, signed in to iCloud (sharing needs iCloud).
How many people can I share a journal with?
As many as you invite. Maila works for two people, a family, or a group trip.
Can the people in a shared journal see my private journals?
No. Sharing is per journal. Your private journals never leave your own iCloud.
What happens when I get a new iPhone?
Sign in to the same iCloud account and open Maila. Your journals come back from iCloud.
What do I need to run Maila?
An iPhone running iOS 27 or later, signed in to iCloud.
Can I stop sharing a journal?
Yes. The owner can remove someone (which also blocks them) or stop sharing from Apple's iCloud sharing sheet, and anyone else can leave a shared journal and either keep or delete their entries.
Does Muse send my writing to a server?
No. Muse uses Apple's on-device model, so it runs on your iPhone, and Private Cloud Compute is never used. It needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, with Apple Intelligence turned on. Otherwise Maila shows built-in writing ideas, and you can turn Muse off.
Start the journal you keep meaning to start.
No account, no ads.