The questions we hear most. Can't find yours? Ask on the feedback board.
Ember is free to download and use with no limits on what you can write. One optional subscription, Ember Plus, unlocks private iCloud backup & sync and the full theme catalogue:
$4.99/month · $39.99/year · or $59.99 for Lifetime.
Yes. The monthly plan starts with a 1-week free trial, and the yearly plan with a 2-week free trial. You won't be charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel anytime from your App Store account settings.
Everything you write is free, forever: journaling, people, worlds, stories, the graph, feed & nudge, and full JSON export. Ember Plus adds the two things the app can't do alone: private iCloud backup & sync across your devices, and the full theme catalogue.
Your data is always yours. If Plus lapses, sync stops but every entry stays on your device, fully readable, and you can still export everything as JSON at any time. Resubscribe and sync resumes.
Ember is a native app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It is one universal purchase: buy Plus once and it covers every device. With Ember Plus, your journal syncs across all of them through your own iCloud account. Everything works on every device except the graph, which lives on the Mac and iPad, where there is room for it.
Not today. Ember is built natively for Apple platforms. Tell us what you'd like to see on the feedback board; it's where our roadmap comes from.
No. There's no sign-up, no login, and no email required. Ember is local-first; if you enable sync, it uses your existing iCloud account: your Apple ID is the only “account” involved.
No, and not by policy alone, but by architecture. Your entries live on your device and sync only through your own iCloud. There is no Ember server that receives your content. See the Privacy Policy and Yours to keep.
Always. Back up everything to one openly documented file (plain JSON and your original media) with File ▸ Back Up Ember…, or export an Obsidian vault or a Bear TextPack from File ▸ Export, free, with or without a subscription. See Import & Export and the archive format.
Yes, for free. Send a moment as a memory card straight to the people in it, or save a story or entry as a book-style PDF. Ember makes them on your device and hosts nothing. There's no watermark. See Sharing & Keepsakes.
Yes. Film mode restarts Ember onto a sample library for one launch. Nothing syncs, nothing is saved, and your own library is back on the next launch.
No. Ember never writes, summarizes, or suggests a single word. The app isn't intelligent; you are. Every sentence in your journal is yours.
Minimal, anonymous, structural data only: feature-usage signals, bucketed counts, and error/crash codes, never your writing, names, searches, or media. You can turn them off in Settings ▸ General. Details are in the Privacy & App Lock guide and the Privacy Policy.
Export your Day One journal, then use File → Import in Ember and pick the file. Your entries, dates, and media come across. Full steps are in Import & Export.
Never. Ember nudges you toward people who are drifting out of touch, never toward the app itself. If you want a writing ritual, your calendar or alarm already does that beautifully.
They're relationship intentions: how you want to keep each person. Only Tending people can fade and appear in Nudge. Rooted is for bonds that need no upkeep, Seen for a meaningful encounter you just want to remember, and Quiet for a relationship you've let rest. Change it with the word under someone's name on their page.
Nudge only lists people you've set to Tending, once the time since your last contact has passed their world's rhythm. Someone with no entries, stories or interactions yet has no clock running, so log the last time you talked. Check, too, whether you chose Not now or Snooze week recently. See How fading works.
Enable app lock in Settings to use Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode. Lock instantly with ⌘⌃L. See Privacy & App Lock.
Wonderful. Ember's roadmap comes from the people who use it. Leave it on the feedback board, or email sangainandhu18@gmail.com.