I dont actually think this product is finished. It has a buggy interface, specifically the tag and search for tag functions don't seem to work from my Macintosh 12.0.1 (Monterey) using Chrome (Version 109.0.5414.119 (Official Build) (x86_64))
Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
11–20 of 112 posts
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#12I've been journaling for about 15 years now. The big key to getting consistent at it was to stop worrying about trying to write a lot, or trying to write something insightful, and just write a sentence or two at a minimum. Often, that turns into more or into something insightful.
this is the way
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#13Shameless plug for my own password protected daily journal app where all your data stays on your device! Built it late last year to build the habit of writing out my thoughts. * iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/a-journal-a-day/id1659288235 * Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.georgejose...
why do people propose their own competing product in a post discussing another. IMO it's in poor form
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#14noticed that the page doesn't scroll outside of the center container, which feels a little buggy.
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#15On desktop, I can only scroll the middle section of the site. If I hover anywhere on the side margin and try to scroll, nothing happens. (Firefox, macOS)
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#16what does Zero-knowledge mean and how it is different from end to end encrypted?
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#17I've worked on 2 "zero-knowledge" apps (basically meaning all data is encrypted/decrypted on the client) and I would advise against it:
* most consumers have no idea what you're talking about / don't care
* those who know what "zero trust" is, also know that it's not really trustless. You do have to trust the company that it will never send the password or plaintext data back to the server. Checking this on a continuous basis is essentially impossible, a rogue update can be pushed anytime. The amount of trust you need to put into the company is not dramatically different from a normal setup. I think psychologically it's also a bit self-defeating - promoting zero-trust aspect somehow suggests that customers shouldn't trust you.
* the design is a major pain, since you never know what surprises await you in the customer's data (data tends to rot). Data migration to a newer version is a pain since you can migrate only when the user logs in, which can be years later (in effect you need to keep backwards compatibility forever). Debugging such customer migration problems blindly is hell.
* there will be useful features which you won't be able to implement without violating the zero knowledge principle. Chances are that many users would place a higher value on those features rather than on the zero knowledge aspect.
If you really want to decrypt/encrypt on the client, then try to minimize them - no encrypted structures, just encrypted text / images / whatever payload. Metadata, keys etc. can remain plaintext and thus accessible for your maintenance needs.
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#18I've been journaling for about 15 years now. The big key to getting consistent at it was to stop worrying about trying to write a lot, or trying to write something insightful, and just write a sentence or two at a minimum. Often, that turns into more or into something insightful.
I've been doing it only for 3 or 4 years, and this 100% lines up with my experience. There are times when I haven't been consistent, and it always comes down to feeling that "I can't do a good job of it right now, maybe later..." and then I miss that day, and miss that week, etc.
I use the mobile app Pixels for journaling though. It lets the user define custom tags (I track emotions, activities, wake up time, body pains...), which for me is pretty useful, but I would say it also raises the floor on the effort it takes to make an entry, because I don't like to miss data points on those tags. So to the reader: start small, be forgiving, and don't worry about getting good data. 99% of the value of journaling is the practice.
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#19I've been journaling for about 15 years now. The big key to getting consistent at it was to stop worrying about trying to write a lot, or trying to write something insightful, and just write a sentence or two at a minimum. Often, that turns into more or into something insightful.
1/ what do you feel like you've learned or gained from this? 2/ do you ever go back and study what you wrote or is it more about giving your thoughts clarity today?
I'm not the OP, but for #2, it's almost all about the latter. Occasionally I go check on random or specific days.
What have I learned or gained? It definitely helps ground me in the flow of time. It's so easy to lose weeks or months or years if you're never reflecting. Journaling helps me be more aware day to day.
Re: Show HN: Working on a Zero-Knowledge Daily Journaling App
#20Zero knowledge here means client side only not zero knowledge proof, correct?
It means progress:
Normal app: Both user and application know what they are doing.
User-friendly app: User doesn't know what they're doing, luckily, the app does.
Zero-knowledge app: Neither the application nor the user know what they are doing.