Every feature in Unstuck and what each one is for. Also what each one is not. Use what helps. Ignore what does not.
Free for iPhone. Android planned.
Private journal.
A place to write what is on your mind. Stays on your device. No account, no cloud sync, no public profile. The app does not contain any AI that reads or summarizes your entries.
A journal entry can be one sentence. It can be a list. It can be a half-thought you do not look at again. There are no formatting requirements and no length minimums. Open the app, write something down, close the app.
Where the data lives: locally on your iPhone, in the app's data store, protected by standard iOS data protection. You can lock the app behind a PIN or Face ID. You can export everything at any time. You can delete one entry, all entries, or the whole app.
Looking for a private journal app? Start with the full privacy rundown →
What it is not: this is not a clinical journal. It does not categorize entries as symptoms, screen for conditions, or share information with anyone. If you write something that you want a clinician to see, you can export it and bring it to your appointment yourself.
Daily check-in.
A short flow that walks you through naming mood, energy, and what is on your plate. About thirty seconds. Personal awareness only. It is not a screen, a diagnosis, or a score that compares you to other people.
The check-in is helpful for the people who like a small, structured moment to notice what is going on before the day takes off. It is just as fine to never use it.
Where the data lives: on your device. Patterns shown over time are for your own reflection. Unstuck does not interpret them, flag them, or share them.
Gentle reminders.
Local reminders that show up on your phone for things you already wanted to do. Hydration. A journal nudge. A check-in nudge. A backup reminder for medication. Appointment notes.
No streaks. No "you broke your chain." No shame for missing a day. Reminders are convenience tools, not pressure tools. They are also not clinical reminders, even when the topic is health-adjacent.
Backup pill reminders. Pill reminders in Unstuck are backup reminders only. They are not medication management, and they do not provide dosing, refill, adherence, or clinical advice. Do not rely on Unstuck as your only method of remembering medication. Always follow instructions from your licensed clinician or pharmacist.
Read: How to use gentle reminders without pressure or streaks →
Reset tools.
Short, evidence-informed tools you can use in the moment.
- Brain dump. Write down whatever is in your head, in any order, until the inside of your head feels less crowded.
- Grounding phrases. A small library of short, plain lines that pull attention out of the spiral.
- Box breathing. Four seconds in, four hold, four out, four hold. Used by clinicians and emergency responders for state regulation, not as a treatment for any condition.
- Tomorrow container. A way to set down a thought you do not need to solve tonight.
- Thought defusion. A short flow that helps you put space between you and a sticky thought.
- 5-4-3-2-1 grounding. Five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste. A sensory-based attention shift.
These tools are not medical care. They are common low-cost behaviors that many clinicians teach and that many people use on their own. If you find them useful, use them. If they do not help on a particular night, stop.
For the reference explainer on grounding, see Shrinkopedia. It is informational background for the grounding exercises above.
Routines.
Short pre-built sequences you can return to.
Morning Reset is a few steps for the first ten minutes of the day. Wind Down for Sleep is a short routine for the last fifteen minutes before bed. Break a Thought Spiral is a short sequence for the moment a thought will not let go. Get Unstuck on a Task is a short sequence for the task you have been avoiding. End the Day is a short way to close the day before sleep.
You can also build your own routine from the tools in the app.
A routine is not a program. Skipping one does not break anything.
Sleep wind-down.
Quiet tools you can use before bed. Brain dump, tomorrow container, grounding, breathing. Not a sleep treatment. If sleep difficulty is affecting your daily life, talk to a clinician. Persistent sleep problems are worth a conversation, not just a wind-down tool.
App lock.
An optional four-digit PIN, with Face ID or Touch ID unlock if your device supports it. Hides app content in the app switcher. Notification preview can be turned off in iOS Settings.
What app lock protects against: casual access from someone who picks up your unlocked phone. What it does not protect against: forensic extraction, a person with your device passcode, or anyone with access to your unlocked iPhone. No app is fully secure. Pair app lock with a strong iOS device passcode and Face ID for the best baseline.
Local export.
Take your data with you any time. Export to a clear file format. Re-import elsewhere or keep a personal backup. Deletion is just as simple: one entry, all entries, or the whole app.
What Unstuck does not have.
This is intentional. Each absence is a feature.
- There is no AI chatbot. No model reads or analyzes your journal.
- Nothing syncs to the cloud.
- We do not require an account or sign-in.
- Streaks, badges, and leaderboards are not part of the app.
- There is no in-app social or sharing surface.
- We do not embed third-party tracking SDKs.
- The app does not run advertising.
- The price is not personalized based on what you write or how you feel.
- We do not sell data, ever.
Apple ecosystem support.
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| iPhone (iOS 16+) | Yes |
| iPad | Planned |
| Apple Watch | Planned |
| Lock Screen widgets | Planned |
| Home Screen widgets | Planned |
| Shortcuts | Planned |
| Focus Modes | Yes (respects the system Do Not Disturb) |
| Live Activities | No |
| Dynamic Island | No |
| HealthKit | Not used. See Apple Health disclaimer. |
| Family Sharing | No |
| iCloud backup of app data | Whatever your device-level iCloud backup setting is set to. Journal entries can ride along in your iCloud device backup if that is enabled at the device level. |
Accessibility.
Unstuck is designed with Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and Reduce Motion in mind, and tested against WCAG 2.1 AA contrast thresholds (4.5:1 body, 3:1 large text and UI). A formal third-party audit is planned. Read the Accessibility Statement for the current state, methodology, and how to report a barrier.
How Unstuck compares.
| Unstuck | Day One | Stoic | Finch | Reflectly | Apple Journal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storage | Local | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud | Local + iCloud |
| Account required | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | iCloud optional |
| Streaks | No | No | Optional | Yes | Yes | No |
| Subscription | Free | Paid tier | Paid tier | Paid tier | Paid tier | Free |
| Built by clinician | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Behavioral tracking | None | Limited | Some | Some | Some | None |
Brief by design. None of those companies are bad, and different apps fit different lives.
Free for iPhone. Android planned.