Maazi is a minimalistic, free journaling app for iPhone

Maazi Iphone Hero (Image credit: Rishi Mohan)

What you need to know

There's never been a better time to start journaling than with Maazi.

Journaling is something that I try to do a few times every year and have never really been able to make the habit stick. But I'm a sucker for a new app so when I heard about Maazi, I took note. A free download from the App Store, Maazi is a "timeline for your memories" and it could be a great way for anyone to catch the journaling habit.

The big pull of Maazi is the simple interface and user experience. All of your entires are shown in a timeline form and creating a new one is a case of tapping the big "+" button, just like you might in a social media app. Then you type out your entry, and you're done. Entries are timestamped and location data is available, too.

You can create voice recordings for your entries when typing just won't cut it, and you can protect your journal entries by putting everything behind Face ID and Touch ID. Those with multiple devices can take advantage of the free cloud syncing as well, although that syncing is handled by Firebase rather than iCloud. Why that might be, I'm not sure. But it's the one knock I'd give the app in its current form.

The full rundown of features includes:

TEXT ENTRIES - Write your heart out, there's peace in writing.VOICE ENTRIES - Don't feel like writing? Long press that add button and start recording your memory. It gives another touch to the memory.FACE/TOUCH ID - You can choose to enable Face/Touch ID authentication to add an extra layer of security, to make sure only you can access your diary entries.FREE CLOUD - The app is based on Firebase and all your data is store in Firebase servers. That means your data is available whenever you want, on any device you want anytime.UI & DARK MODE - To enhance the writing experience and to help you focus on recording your moments, I've designed a beautiful UI and dark mode to add to your experience.

Why not take Maazi for a spin and see if you can catch journaling like everyone else seems to have done? You can download Maazi from the App Store for free right now.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.