Journal Mate is designed around a private-by-default workflow.
For most people, that means three things:
- your library lives close to you instead of inside an ad-driven content system;
- iCloud can keep the same library available across your Apple devices;
- exports let you move or back up what matters when you need another copy.
If you use iCloud Sync, treat it as continuity between your devices, not as the only backup strategy for irreplaceable material. Important journals should still be exported or copied periodically if they matter beyond day-to-day use.
Exports are useful when you need to:
- share a clean JPG, PNG, or PDF;
- keep a project copy outside the app;
- create an extra layer of safety for older journals.
Privacy and portability work best together when your library is small enough to understand, named clearly, and reviewed occasionally instead of ignored until something feels lost.