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Signet guides
Short answers for people who want to keep fewer moments, more deliberately.
Who it is for
For people who quit journaling, and people who want memories kept private.
- A journal app without streaksSignet has no daily reminders and no streak counter. You keep a photo, a sentence and a seal only when a moment is worth it, and see a year as a story.
- A private photo journal with no accountSignet stores your moments on your iPhone, needs no account and shows no ads. It offers no cloud backup and does not replace your photo library.
How-to guides
Stamping a moment, carving your own seal, the year scroll and sharing as an image.
- How to stamp a momentAdd a photo or a sentence, choose a seal, pick a mounting format and adjust. A step-by-step guide to stamping, including what you can change afterwards.
- Carve your own sealMake a personal seal from one to four characters, in red or white text, with your choice of shape, border and ink color, and an optional colophon.
- Year-in-review scrollThe Year page lights up twelve monthly seals as you keep moments, then unrolls the year as a long vertical image you can save or share.
- Share and save moments as imagesExport a stamped moment as a 1080 pixel wide image, choose whether time, place and weather show, and switch off the Signet signature line in Settings.
- Solar-term seals and leisure sealsLeisure seals (xianzhang) are carved for feeling, not identity. The 24 solar terms mark the traditional year. How Signet turns both into its 75 built-in seals.
Comparison
Signet next to Day One, Journey and Apple's Journal app, with sources.
- Chinese-style and seal-style journal appsSignet presses Chinese seals on photos and lines. Stamps, a rubber-stamp diary, and Suishiji, a solar-term journal, differ. Sourced, checked 2026-10-14.
- Day One alternativeDay One is the full-featured journal. Signet keeps only the moments you choose, with a photo, a line and a seal. Sourced, checked 2026-10-16.
- Journey alternativeJourney is a journal with mood tracking, shared journals and encryption. Signet keeps a few chosen moments with a seal. Sourced, checked 2026-10-16.
- PicDiary alternativePicDiary is a calendar-style photo journal with up to five photos a day. Signet keeps only the moments you choose and seals them. Checked 2026-10-16.
- Kept alternativeKept is an AI photo journal that writes captions and reflections. Signet asks you to write one line yourself and press a seal. Checked 2026-10-16.
- Orca alternativeOrca, formerly Happyfeed, is a gratitude journal with groups and prompts. Signet keeps chosen moments privately with a seal. Checked 2026-10-16.
- Best photo journal apps comparedDay One, Journey, PicDiary, Kept, Orca, Apple Journal and Signet compared by how they work, what they cost and who they suit. Checked 2026-10-16.
Signet is for the moments worth keeping: a photo, a sentence, and a seal.
Get Signet on the App StoreFree · iPhone · iOS 17 or later · not available on the mainland China App Store