When you write in MoodHaven Journal, your entries are more than just saved — they're safeguarded.
Here's how MoodHaven keeps your journal private, both on your device and (optionally) in your own cloud.
1. Local Encryption, Always
Every journal entry is encrypted on your device before it is ever stored.
We use AES-256-GCM — a gold standard for authenticated encryption. Your entries aren't just password-protected — they're encrypted at the data level. Even if someone accessed your device's storage, they would see only ciphertext.
Your encryption key is never stored anywhere. It's derived fresh from your password each time you unlock the app.
2. PBKDF2 Key Derivation
When you set your MoodHaven password, the app doesn't use your raw password directly. Instead, it derives a strong cryptographic key using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 600,000 iterations.
This means an attacker who somehow obtained your encrypted database would face an enormous computational cost to guess any password.
You own your key. No servers, no password resets, no hidden copies. If you forget your password, we genuinely cannot help you recover it — because we don't have it.
3. Per-Entry Salts
Each journal entry uses its own random 16-byte salt during key derivation. This means that even if one entry's encryption were somehow compromised, it wouldn't affect any other entry.
Your journal isn't a single encrypted blob — it's a collection of individually protected pieces.
4. Optional Encrypted Sync
If you choose to sync, only encrypted blobs are transferred. MoodHaven never sends raw or decrypted data — not even to private clouds or your own servers.
You control where the ciphertext lives. MoodHaven just moves it.
Why This Matters
Most apps talk about privacy. MoodHaven is built with privacy in every line of code.
There are no backdoors. There are no analytics. There is no secret server. The source code is public — you can verify every claim in this post by reading it.
You write. MoodHaven protects.