Apple recently announced a new Journal app during the WWDC keynote, which aims to provide users with a single app that can replace all their journals and notebooks. While this may seem like a dream come true for many, a certain group of people, including avid journalers, are not too keen on the idea.
In an article on iMore, writer Christine Romero-Chan expressed her concerns about the Journal app, particularly its use of on-device machine learning. According to Apple, this feature will provide customized journaling prompts based on a user’s contacts, photos, music, workouts, location data, and even podcasts.
Romero-Chan sees this AI-powered scrapbook and digital diary combo as a potential threat to user privacy. She noted that the AI behind the Memories feature in the Photos app is not exactly the brightest, and that the Journal app’s machine learning capabilities could lead to some unintended consequences.
While the Journal app may be convenient for some, Romero-Chan’s reaction to it suggests that there may be a niche group of users who prefer the traditional methods of journaling. Apple may need to take this feedback into consideration as it continues to develop its products and services.
