Private mood tracking for iPhone
Your feelings are personal. Mental keeps your ordinary journal on your device and in private iCloud sync, with separate choices for the features that process context online.
Your journal, without a Mental account
Record a feeling, add a note, and revisit your history. A Mental email-and-password account is not required. Your Apple ID handles private iCloud sync; export and deletion are separate controls.
Follow the data pathsA memory layer you choose
Pro Memory is optional. When enabled, selected context can be processed online. You can return to its source entry, edit a memory, or ask Mental to forget it. A private journal does not make that online processing local.
See how Memory worksWhat moves where
Your journal content and anonymous product analytics take different paths. Optional AI and Apple Health add separate, user-controlled paths.
The privacy policy remains the legal source of truth. Compare journal storage, optional processing, analytics, and permissions separately rather than relying on one “private” label.
| Data | Where it goes | When and why | Your control | Policy detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal entries | Your iPhone and your private iCloud; Mental keeps no server copy of the journal. | When you save a check-in, note, or tag, so the journal can persist and sync. | Edit, export, or delete from the app. | Storage details |
| iCloud sync | Apple CloudKit tied to your Apple ID, not a Mental account. | To keep the journal available through your private iCloud sync. | Apple governs iCloud access; deleting Mental history removes its synced copy too. | iCloud details |
| Anonymous analytics | PostHog, under a random identifier; journal text, mood content, name, sex, and birth year are excluded. | Usage events are on by default to understand product use and fix problems. | Turn analytics off in Settings. | Analytics details |
| Website visits | Aggregate counts in Cloudflare. Page events and session recordings in PostHog under a random ID that lasts only as long as the browser tab; text fields are masked and tools are hidden. | When you browse getmental.app, to see which pages help and where they get in the way. | Do Not Track, Global Privacy Control, a content blocker or the opt-out link turns it off. | Website details |
| Optional AI | Selected note and mood data pass through Mental’s relay to an AI provider. Temporary request handling is distinct from a permanent server copy of your journal. | After you enable AI, the features you turn on may process check-ins to generate tags, daily wrap-ups, memories, or suggested actions, including automatically after you save an entry. | AI is off until enabled. Turn it off, or turn single features off, in You → AI features. | AI details |
| Ask Mental | Conversations stay on your iPhone, without iCloud sync. Each message goes through Mental’s relay to the AI provider; with Memory on, up to eight related check-ins, memories, or suggested actions go with it. | Only when you send a message, after you allow AI and turn on Ask Mental, a Pro feature. | Delete a conversation, turn Ask Mental off, or delete your history. | Ask Mental details |
| Voice input | Turned into text on your iPhone; Mental keeps the text, not the audio. If your iPhone can’t transcribe your language, audio goes to Apple only with “Transcribe with Apple” on. | While the microphone is on in a note or an Ask Mental message. | Microphone access in iOS Settings; “Transcribe with Apple” is off by default. | Voice details |
| Apple Health | Exact Health values stay on device. A separate AI opt-in can send coarse ranges with a request. | After Health permission, to add context or save State of Mind; coarse AI context requires another opt-in. | Revoke Health access or the separate AI-context permission. | Health details |
| Export and deletion | An export of your check-ins becomes a file you control. Deletion removes check-ins, memories, wrap-ups, and Ask Mental conversations from the device and iCloud sync. | Only when you choose an export or deletion action. | Export your check-ins or delete your history in the app. | Control details |
What no account means
Mental does not ask you to create a Mental login with an email address and password. The journal is stored on your device and synced through your Apple ID’s private iCloud rather than a Mental journal database.
What it does not mean
No account does not mean that the app uses no outside services. Anonymous product analytics are on by default and can be disabled. Optional AI sends selected content only when enabled and used. Apple Health and its AI-context option have their own permissions.
That distinction is why this page avoids blanket claims. The useful question is not “does anything ever leave the phone?” but “which data moves, for which feature, under whose control?”
Journal content is not analytics
Mental’s product analytics can record that a screen opened or a check-in started. They do not include your note text, mood content, name, sex, or year of birth. Optional AI is a separate path and is not silently activated by analytics.
Read the exact terms
This page is a readable map, not a replacement for the policy. Read the current Mental privacy policy for provider details, retention language, Apple Health permissions, purchases, children, and future changes. Questions can be sent to hello@getmental.app.
Choose on the basis of your own entries
Try the free emotion grid and text check-in before choosing an app. If you are comparing products, our iPhone journal comparison separates ordinary writing, voice notes, memory, export, and paid features. We make Mental; the recommendation is ours.