Journal with friends
a journal you keep with your friends.
You know the headlines. The new job, the breakup, the marathon. What you lose is everything underneath: what anyone’s Tuesday actually looked like. The group chat carries memes beautifully. It carries ordinary life badly.
free on iPhone and Android · takes about two minutes
Journaling with friends flips that. Every day, each of you writes down the same three small things in hodgepodge: what’s on your plate, one photo, one thought. Nobody performs, because there’s nothing to perform for. No likes economy, no algorithm choosing winners. You’re just holding up your day: this is what I’ve got.
The feed, on a Wednesday (illustrative)
Alex
Today
“Is it weird to bring your own tupperware to a restaurant? Asking for me.”
Priya
Today
Going to be the kind of person who stretches. Starting tomorrow, probably.
Dev
Today
“a whole bird, just standing there”
“Grateful the library exists. It's just free books. Wild.”
Mo
Today
My neighbor waves like we’ve been through a war together. I love him.
And then, quietly, you know things again. You know your friend has been putting off calling the dentist for days, so you text them “how’d the dentist go?” when they finally do it. You know what their kitchen looks like at 7am. This is the texture friendships are actually made of, and it doesn’t survive on big updates alone.
The ritual is small on purpose. Two minutes doesn’t compete with your life the way “we should really catch up” does, so it actually happens. And the catch-up calls get better, because you skip the status report and start in the middle.
From our App Store reviews
Five stars on the App Store
“I love being able to see the little details of my friends’ days and share my own. It’s the best parts of social media and journaling all in one beautiful lil app”
“I recently moved out of my home country and have really struggled to stay in touch with friends. This app COMPLETELY changed that.”
“I’m not usually a to-do list person, but this app has made it feel so satisfying to write down my tasks and thoughts at the beginning of each day.”
“Feels kind of like Strava for other life stuff haha.”
fair questions.
What if my friends won't keep a journal?
Start alone. hodgepodge works fine as a private daily journal. Then invite the one friend most likely to try it. The bar is genuinely low: a few tasks, a photo, a thought, about two minutes. Most people who won't "journal" will happily show a friend their to-do list.
How many friends do I need for this to work?
One. A single close friend checking in next to you is enough to make the whole thing feel alive. Friendships on hodgepodge are mutual (you both add each other), so your journal is only ever visible to people you actually chose.
Is this just BeReal again?
The photo is one layer of three. hodgepodge is closer to a journal than a photo app: your tasks and a written thought carry most of the day. There's also no timer, no algorithm, and no pressure to be interesting. A photo of your laundry counts.
hold up your day. see theirs.
Free on iPhone and Android. Takes about two minutes.