Switching to LifeOS?
Bring your history with you.
You’ve been writing for years, in one app or three. You shouldn’t have to leave it behind to start somewhere better. LifeOS can read what you export from your old apps and put it in your Journal, under its original dates.
How it works
Three steps, and you stay in control.
1. Export from your old app
Most apps have an Export option, usually in Settings. Save the file to your phone’s Files.
2. Choose it in LifeOS
In the app: Account Settings, then Bring your history. LifeOS reads the file on your phone and shows you what it found.
3. Look, then import
Nothing is saved until you tap Import. Every entry lands on its original date, and you can undo the whole import later.
Where to find each app’s export
| From | Where to find the export | What comes across |
|---|---|---|
| Day One | Export your entries as JSON (it arrives as a zip). Day One’s own guide has the steps: Exporting entries. | Your words, dates and tags. Photos, video and audio are not brought in. |
| Daylio | In Daylio: More, then Export Entries, then CSV (table). | Dates and times, your mood, your activities and your notes. |
| Journey | Export your entries from Journey as a zip of files. Check Journey’s help for the current steps. | Dates, your words and tags. Media is not brought in. |
| Apple Journal | On iPhone: Settings, Apps, Journal, Export All Journal Entries, then save the zip to Files. Apple explains it here: Back up, export, and print Journal entries. | Your words and dates. Photos and other media are not brought in. Apple doesn’t publish the layout of its export, so LifeOS reads it as best it can. |
| Any spreadsheet (CSV) | Any app that can export to a spreadsheet. | It needs a date and some writing. If LifeOS can’t tell which columns are which, it asks you. |
| Notes (Markdown, text, web pages) | Many notes apps, including Obsidian, keep or export plain Markdown or text files. | Each note needs a date, in its file name or at the top. A note with no date is skipped and reported, never given a made-up one. |
Menus change as apps are updated, so check your old app’s own help if a step looks different. Day One, Daylio, Journey, Apple Journal and Obsidian are trademarks of their owners, and Albatross is not affiliated with them.
What to expect, honestly
- Every app saves its files a little differently, so some entries may not come across perfectly. LifeOS tells you what it couldn’t read, before you import.
- Your Journal holds one entry per day, so several entries from the same day are joined into one, in time order.
- A day you have already written in LifeOS is kept exactly as it is. Nothing is overwritten.
- Photos, video and audio are not brought in, only the words. Habit trackers’ day-by-day histories aren’t supported yet.
- You can undo any import. A day you have changed since importing is kept.
Your privacy
The file is read on your phone, and nothing is uploaded until you tap Import. Imported writing is saved to your account like anything you write yourself. It is not shared with the Flight Attendant unless you have turned on Journal sharing. And when you want everything back, one tap in Account Settings exports it all.
What it costs
Importing is free. Your first 14 days include everything. After that, Journal days older than a week are part of Pro, and nothing you have written is ever deleted.