Before saving a mood diary, check what you want to record, where copies will be stored and who could see them. Before sharing it, review the actual file or message you are about to send. A reassuring app-store label does not answer every privacy question.
This checklist is for adults choosing how to keep personal wellbeing notes. It works alongside our simple mood diary template. You can do the first checks with a blank note or an invented entry, before adding anything personal.
Start with what you want to keep
Decide what the record is for. You might want a brief description of your day, a few observations to discuss at an appointment, or space to write privately. Those purposes do not always need the same level of detail.
For each field, ask: would leaving this out stop the record being useful to me? A note about a difficult work conversation may not need a colleague's full name, employer, address or private messages. This is a practical way to limit what you record, rather than a rule that you must remove all context.
The US Federal Trade Commission's health-app privacy checklist recommends asking why an app collects information, whom it shares information with and what controls the settings provide. Apply those questions to the information you actually plan to enter.
Find out where the record and its copies live
Before choosing a tool, look for clear answers to these questions:
- Does the record stay on this device, or is it sent to an online account?
- Does signing in on another device make the notes available there?
- Are backups or synchronization involved, and under whose account?
- What happens when you export a file, email it or save it to another service?
- Could someone else using the device or account open the record?
Treat an unanswered question as unanswered. Words such as "private" or "secure" do not, on their own, describe all of these arrangements. Paper also needs a storage decision: where would you leave the notebook, and who normally has access to that place?
Read the store summary and the privacy policy together
Google Play explains that developers declare how their apps collect, share and handle data in the Data safety section. Its definitions have exceptions, including some transfers to service providers. Practices can also vary with the features used, region or age.
Apple's App Privacy explanation likewise says the summary may not describe every practice and that actual collection can depend on how you use an app. It directs readers to the developer's privacy policy for more information.
Use the summary as a starting point. In the policy, look for the categories relevant to your intended record: written notes, ratings, audio, account details, diagnostic information and any optional research or analytics. Then look for the purposes, recipients and available choices. If two explanations appear inconsistent, ask the developer before relying on an assumption.
Google's description of encryption in transit concerns data while it travels. That statement alone does not answer who can read a stored note or a copy you later share. Ask those questions separately rather than treating one security phrase as a complete privacy assessment.
Connect each permission to a feature you chose
A request for the microphone, camera, photos, contacts or location deserves a specific explanation. Ask which feature uses it and whether you intend to use that feature. For example, recording an optional voice note is a different choice from typing a short entry.
Android's permissions guidance explains that permissions can be allowed, denied or changed in device settings; available choices depend on the permission and device version. Follow the instructions for your own device rather than assuming every phone has the same menu.
Permission controls and a privacy policy answer different questions. Changing access to a device feature is not a substitute for finding out how information already entered into an account is handled.
Make a deliberate sharing copy
If you want to discuss notes with someone, decide what that person needs for the conversation. You can make a separate summary while keeping your original record intact. Our GP appointment summary guide offers a way to organize duration, daily impact and questions for that purpose.
Before sending, open the actual sharing copy and check:
- Content: does it contain only the dates and information you intended to share?
- Other people: are names, contact details or quoted private messages necessary?
- Surroundings: if it is a screenshot, what else is visible, including notifications or account details?
- Destination: is this the intended person, address or service?
- Description: have you labelled a selected summary as a summary, rather than suggesting it is the complete diary?
These checks do not make every sharing method secure. They help you inspect the choice you are making before sending the copy.
A fictional example: choosing a smaller sharing copy
Imagine an adult has a private entry about a tense workplace conversation. The entry includes a colleague's name, the organization and a pasted message. They want to tell a clinician how the week affected everyday life.
An invented sharing summary might read:
Selected summary for an appointment, not my complete diary.
This week: tense after a work conversation; found it harder to settle at night.
Question: I would like to discuss the effect on sleep and daily life.
Details omitted from this copy: colleague's name and private message.The example shows an editorial choice about what to share. It is not a clinical assessment, evidence about what caused the person's difficulties or a required form. The original entry can remain separate; the summary should still represent the experience accurately.
Check the exit plan before you need it
Look for separate explanations of deleting an entry, deleting an account and requesting removal of stored data. Ask what remains in backups or other retained records, and what the stated process covers. Also consider copies you created or sent elsewhere. Do not assume one button addresses every location on your list.
You can keep a short decision note without copying the diary itself:
Tool and policy checked on:
Information I intend to record:
Where the record and backups are described as stored:
Optional features or permissions I intend to use:
People or services I intend to share with:
How I would export or request deletion:
Questions I still need answered:This is an original planning aid, not a security audit or a guarantee of privacy. You do not need to enter sensitive material while investigating an unfamiliar tool.
Apply the same questions to PsychPod
This checklist also applies to PsychPod. Read our current privacy policy alongside the options you actually see and the features you intend to use. A published policy explains stated practices; it is not an independent certification that every possible use or sharing choice is safe.
About this guide
Published by PsychPod, which operates the app mentioned in this guide. Practical privacy education for adults; not an independent security audit or advice about your individual legal rights. Sources checked 15 October 2026. Prepared with AI-assisted writing and editorial source checking. No independent clinical review is claimed. The example and decision note are fictional or original editorial tools.