Diam - Photo Diary with Calendar
Diam is a plain, quiet diary. Each day gets one page: a date at the top, a writing area underneath, and room for the photos you took that day. There are no feeds, streaks or prompts competing for your attention, just a place to put down what happened and how it felt.
The name mixes "diary" and "diamond", the idea being that ordinary days are worth keeping. You can move through your pages by swiping left and right, as if leafing through a paper notebook, and open a calendar that marks every day you have written about.
This web version runs entirely in your browser. You do not need an account, and your words and pictures are kept on this device rather than sent to a server, which makes it a comfortable place for private notes.
The app runs entirely in your browser. What you enter is saved only on this device.
How to use Diam
- Write today's entry. The app opens on today's date. Click or tap the writing area and type freely; the box grows as you write.
- Save the page. Press the save (floppy disk) icon in the top bar. A short message confirms the diary was saved. Diam does not save automatically, so save before moving to another day.
- Add photos. Press the image icon and choose a picture from your device. It appears as a small square above your text. Add as many as you like for the same day.
- View or remove a photo. Click a thumbnail to see it full screen, then click it or the close button to go back. The small X in the corner of a thumbnail removes that photo from the day.
- Move between days. Swipe right for the previous day and left for the next one. With a mouse, drag sideways across the page.
- Jump with the calendar. Press the calendar icon. Days that already have an entry show a small marker. Pick a date, then press Close to read or write that day's page.
- Share a page. Open the menu (three dots) and choose share to send a picture of the current page, if your browser supports sharing.
Features
- One diary page per day with a large, expanding writing area
- Photos attached to any day, shown as thumbnails with a full-screen viewer
- Swipe or drag sideways to flip to the previous or next day
- Monthly calendar that marks the days you have written
- Share a picture of the current page through your browser's share sheet
- Interface available in many languages, following your browser or the ?lang= setting
- Entries and photos stay in this browser; no sign-up
Keeping a diary you will actually come back to
Start smaller than you think
Most diaries are abandoned because the first entries are too ambitious. A page does not need to be an essay. Two or three sentences about what happened, who you saw and one thing you noticed are enough to bring a day back months later. Short entries are easy to keep up, and a long streak of short entries is worth far more than a few long ones followed by silence.
Pick a regular moment
Habits stick when they are tied to something you already do. Some people write while the kettle boils in the morning, others just before bed or on the train home. If you miss a day, write it the next morning while it is still fresh, or simply leave it blank. Gaps are normal, and going back to fill every one of them can turn the diary into a chore.
Write concrete details
Feelings fade quickly, but they are easier to recall when they are anchored to specifics: the name of the café, the song that was playing, what someone actually said. A useful pattern is fact, feeling, follow-up: what happened, how you felt about it, and anything you want to remember to do. Concrete details are also what make old entries enjoyable to reread.
Let photos do part of the work
A single photo often holds more memory than a paragraph. On busy days, adding one picture and a line of text is a perfectly good entry. Choose images that show the day rather than the perfect shot: a receipt, a view from the window, a meal, a ticket. Later, the calendar and the photos together act as a visual index to your year.
Look back on purpose
Rereading is where a diary pays off. Once a month, open the calendar, look at which days have markers and skim a few of them. You may notice patterns in your sleep, mood or the people you spend time with, or simply enjoy remembering. Many people find that looking back at the same date a year earlier is the most rewarding part of journaling.
Keep it private and safe
Honest writing needs a place that feels private. A diary that lives only on your own device, without an account, avoids accidental sharing, but it also means you are responsible for not losing it. Avoid shared or public computers for personal entries, and remember that clearing your browser's data clears the diary too.
Frequently asked questions
Where are my diary entries and photos stored?
Only in this browser on this device. Text is kept in the browser's local storage and photos in its IndexedDB database. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account, so clearing site data, using a private window, or switching to another browser or device means your entries will not be there.
Why did my text disappear when I changed the day?
Entries are saved only when you press the save icon. If you swipe to another day or pick a date in the calendar before saving, the unsaved text is discarded. Save first, then move on.
Are my photos resized?
Yes. To keep the browser's storage small, pictures are scaled down to about 1600 pixels on the longest side before they are stored. The original file on your device is not changed.
Can I change the language?
The interface follows your browser's language. You can also add ?lang= and a language code to the address, for example ?lang=ja for Japanese. Your entries are kept by date, so they stay visible whichever language you use.
How is this different from the phone app?
The writing, photos, swiping and calendar work the same way. The iPhone and Android app keeps entries in the phone's own storage and offers an optional ad-free subscription. The web version has no purchases and its data is separate from the phone app; the two do not sync.
Can I export or back up my diary?
Not in the web version. There is no export, import or sync, so for anything you cannot afford to lose, also keep a copy elsewhere.
Limitations of the web version
- Entries must be saved with the save icon; there is no autosave
- No export, backup or sync between browsers or devices
- Data is separate from the iPhone and Android app
- Sharing a picture of the page depends on your browser's share support
- In-app purchases are not offered on the web
Phone app
Diam is also available as an app for phones and tablets: