Where Does Day One Store Journal Entries?
Day One keeps entries in a Group Containers folder on Mac and private app storage on phones, plus sync and backup copies elsewhere.
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Day One stores entries locally on every device first. On Mac that means a Group Containers folder with a Journal.dayone package inside. On iPhone and Android the live database sits in private app storage you cannot browse directly.
Sync and exports bridge the gap. Day One Sync mirrors entries across devices, while Android can auto-back up entry text to a Day One Backups folder in Google Drive. Manual JSON export covers the rest, though media needs its own handling outside the text archive.
Where Day One stores this, by platform
~/Library/Group Containers/5U8NS4GX82.dayoneapp2
Journal.dayone package under Data/Documents. iCloud sync keeps a sibling copy under Mobile Documents; Dropbox sync uses ~/Dropbox/Apps/Day One. Copy with the app closed.
On My iPhone/Day One (exports only)
No user-browsable path: entries live in the private container with iCloud backup. Move devices with Day One Sync; use in-app export for files you can keep.
/storage/emulated/0/Download (Day One exports)
Live database is private. Real backups are Day One Sync plus Auto Backup to Google Drive (text-only JSON zips, no photos). Manual export via the file picker saves anywhere you choose.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move my Day One journal to a new phone?
Sign in with the same account and let Day One Sync download everything. On Android, the optional Google Drive auto-backup restores entry text as a starting point if sync was off.
How do I back up Day One on Mac?
Copy the Group Containers folder with Day One closed, or rely on Time Machine which already covers it. The Journal.dayone package inside Data/Documents is the file that matters.
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