The AI voice journal that listens back.
Your mind is full. The page is blank. Dearly is the voice journal that lets you just talk: tap the ink drop, say what's on your mind for a minute, and it's written into a clean, serif-set page you'll actually reread. Then it listens back: the moods, the people and the worries that keep coming up.
Free: 10 transcriptions a day, forever · your voice is never stored
See how it works
What is an AI voice journal
A journal you talk to, that writes itself, and reads itself back
A voice journal is a diary you keep by speaking instead of typing. An AI voice journal goes two steps further: it transcribes what you said into a clean written entry, and then it reads your entries back to you, summarising each one, naming the mood underneath, and noticing what keeps coming up across a month.
The point isn't dictation. It's that talking is faster and looser than writing, so you say the things you'd never slow down to type. Dearly keeps the mess out of the page and the meaning in it.
Just walked out of the meeting with Sarah and my stomach is in knots. I keep replaying what she said about the Q4 report, the way she looked at me when I asked about the timeline. I blanked completely. And the performance review is next week, so I'm already spiralling. Why do I always get like this at the office?
What you felt
My stomach is in knots after the meeting with Sarah.
Sarah · anxious the office · tense performance review · dread
- 1
Tap the ink drop.
Talk for a minute, or ten. No prompts to fill, no cursor to stare at.
- 2
It's written.
Your audio is transcribed over an encrypted connection and turned into a serif-set page in seconds. The recording stays on your phone.
- 3
It listens back.
With Pro, each entry gets an AI summary and a named mood; over weeks, patterns, your cast of people and places, and a painted mood horizon appear.
- 4
You reread.
Search your entries, answer a reflection question drawn from your own words, or just scroll back through a month that reads like paper.
What it does
Speak, and it's written
Vent, reflect, or think out loud. Your words become a journal entry in seconds: your voice, on paper. 10 free transcriptions every day, forever.
Hear what's underneath
AI summaries name the mood under each entry. Patterns show what keeps coming back: "when work comes up, worry tends to follow." Your cast tracks the people and places in your thoughts. Mood horizon paints your month as a sky, not a spreadsheet.
A private voice diary, by design
Your voice is transcribed over an encrypted connection and never stored. Recordings stay on your phone. Face ID, Touch ID or fingerprint lock. Export or permanently delete everything, inside the app.
- Recorded on your phoneThe audio file never leaves the device.
- Sent encrypted, never storedTranscribed over an encrypted connection and discarded.
- Locked with Face IDOr Touch ID, or your fingerprint.
Feels like paper
Serif type, warm paper surfaces, moods that drift like weather. A place for your own thoughts shouldn't feel like a task manager.
Why I built it
I journal by talking. Typing kills the flow. But every voice-journal app I tried uploaded my raw audio to a server and kept it. That's a no.
So I built Dearly: your recordings stay on your phone, audio travels over an encrypted connection only to be transcribed and is never stored, and the whole thing reads like paper instead of a spreadsheet.
Swapnil, who makes Dearly
Voice journal vs typing vs dictation
Why an AI voice journal, and not notes, dictation, or a voice memo
| Question | Typed journal app | Voice memo / dictation app | Dearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started | A blank page and a cursor | Tap record, start talking | Tap the ink drop, start talking |
| What you end up with | Typed text | A raw transcript, or an audio file | A clean, serif-set journal page |
| Your voice recording | n/a | Usually uploaded and kept on a server | Stays on your phone; transcribed over an encrypted connection, never stored |
| Reading back | You reread and notice things yourself | You reread a wall of transcript | AI summaries, a named mood per entry, patterns across the month (Pro) |
| Free tier | Usually unlimited | A trial, then a paywall | Unlimited recording + 10 transcriptions a day, forever |
| Feels like | A notes app | A transcription tool | Paper |
Honest caveat: if you love writing by hand, a typed journal is fine. Dearly is for people who think out loud. We keep an up-to-date comparison of other apps in best AI voice journal apps.
Pricing
Free, forever
- No card, no trial clock
Unlimited voice recording, 10 transcriptions a day, your full written journal, biometric lock.
Dearly Pro
- About $0.83 a month, or $1.99 monthly
- Or $29.99 once, yours for life
- Every Pro feature free for your first 15 days
AI summaries, patterns, your cast, mood horizon, reflection questions, and export.
Questions
AI voice journal questions, answered
What is Dearly?
Dearly is an AI voice journal app for Android and iPhone by BroooApps. You tap the ink drop, speak for a minute, and Dearly writes your words into a clean, serif-set journal page you can reread and search. With Pro it also listens back: AI summaries, a named mood per entry, and the patterns, people and places that keep coming up. The free plan includes unlimited recording and 10 transcriptions per day.
What makes Dearly an "AI" voice journal rather than a voice recorder?
A voice recorder keeps audio. A dictation app gives you a raw transcript. Dearly turns what you said into a written journal entry, then reads your entries back: it summarises each one, names the mood underneath, and over weeks surfaces patterns and the people and topics that recur. The AI is there to help you reread yourself, not to write for you.
Does my voice recording leave my phone?
No — not to be stored. Your voice recordings live on your device; audio travels over an encrypted connection only to be transcribed, and is never stored. Only the transcription text syncs to the cloud.
Is the AI trained on my journal?
No. Your entries are processed to produce your summaries and insights and are not used to train AI models. The privacy policy at dearlyjournal.com/privacy states this plainly.
How much does Dearly cost?
Dearly is free forever for recording, 10 transcriptions a day, your full journal, and biometric lock. Dearly Pro costs $9.99/year (about $0.83/month) or $1.99/month, and a one-time lifetime purchase is $29.99. Pro adds AI summaries, patterns, your cast, mood horizon, reflection questions, and export — all free for your first 15 days.
What does "10 free transcriptions a day" mean?
On the free plan, Dearly transcribes up to 10 entries per day; the limit resets daily. Recording itself is always unlimited.
Is Dearly available on iPhone (iOS)?
Yes — Dearly is live on the App Store for iPhone, and on Google Play for Android. The same account and private journal sync across both.
Can I lock my journal?
Yes. Dearly supports biometric lock, so your journal opens with your fingerprint or Face ID.
Voice journaling guides
Learn voice journaling, from first entry to private habit
Most secure journal app? 12 privacy policies read
We read the privacy policies of 12 journal apps on 19 October 2026: encryption, audio, AI training and vendors, lock, export and deletion, all linked.
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Start tonight. Say the things you'd never slow down to write. There's more of you to hear.
