Make an app
Make a private journal and diary app for iPhone
A journal app should feel like a notebook in a drawer only you can open. Describe yours and Borel builds a native iPhone diary in SwiftUI: long entries with photos and the place you wrote them, dictation for when typing is too slow, a calendar of past days, and a Face ID lock, with everything kept on your phone.
Updated
“A private journal: entries have a date, a title, free text, optional photos and the place I wrote them. The home screen is a calendar where days with entries are marked, plus a search. Keep it behind Face ID. Let me dictate an entry, and offer an AI-written question to write about when I'm stuck.”
Screens
What a journal app needs
The screens Borel builds from the prompt above. Ask for more, fewer or different ones.
Calendar
A month with marked days; tap one to read what you wrote.
Write
A clean page with a title, the date, photos and the place, saved as you type.
Search
Find any entry by a word, a place or a month.
Locked
A plain screen that waits for Face ID before showing anything.
Data
What it keeps
Borel writes these as Swift models. On the phone they work with no connection; in Borel's cloud they follow a signed-in person.
| What | Holds | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Date, title, text, place name | On the phone, with SwiftData |
| Photo | Pictures attached to an entry | On the phone, with the entry |
| Prompt | Questions the AI suggested | On the phone |
Native iPhone features
What it can use on your iPhone
Written in Swift with Apple's own frameworks, so they work the way iPhone owners expect.
- Face IDNothing shows until Face ID sees you, with the passcode as a backup.How Borel builds it
- Voice and speechDictate an entry on a walk and tidy it up later.How Borel builds it
- Maps and locationThe place you wrote each entry, and a map of them all.How Borel builds it
- Built-in AIA question to write about, from Borel's AI, when the page is blank.How Borel builds it
Make it yours
What to ask for next
Once the first version runs, ask for changes in the chat, in words like these.
- “Show 'a year ago today' at the top when there's an entry from that date.”
- “Let me tag entries and filter by tag.”
- “Use a serif font and paper colours for the writing screen.”
- “Export everything as one PDF.”
How to make it
From a prompt to your iPhone and the App Store
- 1
Describe it
Paste the prompt on this page into Borel, or write your own in plain words. Borel plans the screens with you before it builds.
- 2
Try it in your browser
Borel writes the app in Swift and SwiftUI, builds it with Xcode on its own Mac and opens it in a live iPhone simulator in your browser, free.
- 3
Put it on your iPhone
With Pro, Borel Companion for Windows or Mac installs it on your own iPhone with your Apple ID: a cable the first time, then Wi-Fi.
- 4
Publish it when it's ready
Pro publishes to the App Store from the same project. Apple's Developer Program, $99 a year, is the one thing you pay Apple.
Face ID, dictation and location only show what they're like on the real iPhone. Write a real entry: lock the phone, open the app again and see that it asks for your face. Dictate a paragraph outdoors and check the place it records is the one you meant.
Most journals stay private, which is exactly what a free Apple ID and Companion are for. If you publish one, entries remain on each person's phone unless you add accounts, and Borel adds the privacy rows Apple asks for.
Building starts free, with 5 free credits a day, up to 30 a month, and the simulator in your browser costs nothing. Pro, from $20 a month, adds installs on your own iPhone through Borel Companion and publishing to the App Store.
Before you start
Good to know
- Entries aren't backed up to iCloud; download them or add accounts in Borel's cloud if you want a copy elsewhere.
- The AI questions use Borel's AI over the internet, and the app asks before first use; the rest works offline.
Frequently asked questions
Describe it to Borel and ask for a Face ID lock. Borel keeps entries on the iPhone with SwiftData and opens the app only after Face ID or the passcode.
Yes. Pick them from your library or take one with the camera, and they're saved with the entry.
Yes. Borel can add Apple's speech to text, which turns what you say into the entry's text after you allow it.
No. Without accounts, entries never leave your iPhone. Only the optional AI question is sent to Borel's AI to be written.
Make your journal app
Start from the prompt on this page, change it to fit your idea, and Borel builds it while you watch.