How do I keep journal entries from appearing in Mac Spotlight or All My Files?

⚠️ This article applies to Day One Classic (version 1.x) only — a retired product that has not been updated since March 2016. Day One Classic has been retired. We strongly recommend updating to the current version of Day One. See the iOS release notes.

Looking for Spotlight in the current Day One app? Mac Spotlight does not search the contents of journal entries in the current Day One. Day One stores entries in an encrypted database that Spotlight cannot index, and there is no setting to change this. To search your journal, use Day One’s built-in search (the magnifying glass at the top of the entry list, or Cmd-Shift-F). See Search in Day One.

The instructions below apply only to Day One Classic.

By default, Day One entries may be indexed by the Mac Spotlight search service and included in the All My Files Finder view if you are using iCloud syncing or local storage of your entries. (Note: If your entries are indexed, they are only indexed locally on your machine.)

If you don’t want entries to appear in Spotlight, follow these steps:

1. Locate your Day One journal in Finder. (Read: Where is the Day One data file stored?)
2. Open Mac System Settings.
3. Select Spotlight.
4. Click Search Privacy.
5. Drag the Journal_dayone folder (or Journal.dayone file if using Dropbox) into this window.