Sign In/Sign Out with Day One Sync
How to sign in/sign out with Day One Sync.
Syncing is available between devices with Silver or Gold user status. See pricing.
There are 3 ways to sign into Day One:
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Day One account. This is an account you manually set up with an email and a password of your choosing. See here on how to create a Day One account.
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Sign in with Apple. This is new as of version 5.0 on iOS and 4.16 on Mac. This option is just the updated version of the previous way of using Apple ID. See here.
- Google Account This will log you in with your Google Account by clicking “continue with Google” in the app. This feature is not available on iOS or macOS. Please add a password to your account in the web app if this is your only login method, and you need to use an Apple device with Day One.
Generally speaking, you should always select the same login option on all devices so that you are using the same account. If you end up with multiple accounts, there is a way to “merge” them. See here.
Signing in with Apple ID on a new device creates a fresh empty account instead of opening your existing one? If your existing account is older (from before Day One Sync) — sometimes called a “legacy” or “CloudKit-only” account — this is a different problem from accidentally creating a duplicate account, and it has a different fix. You don’t need to merge. Instead, sign into the existing account (on the device where it’s already working) and trigger the Update from CloudKit migration: in the Day One app, go to Settings > tap the name at the top > tap Update on the Sign in with Apple line. Or on the web, go to https://dayone.me/settings and log in. You will see an error the first time, but try again — the second attempt typically completes the migration. After that, you can sign in normally on all your devices. See the Update from CloudKit section of the Sign in with Apple guide for full details.
Understanding the Sign-Out Warning
When you sign out of Day One (and sometimes when signing in), you may see a warning that says your entries will be removed from the device. This warning means:
- Entries that have been synced to the Day One server are safe. They are not deleted from your account. You can access them by signing back in or by visiting dayone.me.
- Entries that have NOT been synced (created while offline or before sync completed) will be removed from the device and cannot be recovered.
Before signing out, always create a backup of your data:
- Export your entries as JSON (the best format for re-importing later).
- Save the export file to iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or another safe location.
- Verify your entries appear at dayone.me to confirm they are synced.
Once you have confirmed your backup, you can safely sign out and sign back in.
Troubleshooting: “Forbidden” Error When Saving Account Info
Some users see an error like “Unable to save user info” with the message “forbidden” when trying to save changes on the Edit Account screen (updating their name, email, profile photo, etc.). This means the server rejected the save request with an HTTP 403 (Forbidden) response.
The most common causes:
- Your sign-in is no longer valid. Try signing out and signing back in (see steps for iOS, macOS, Android, or Web/Windows). Always back up your entries first since signing out removes any unsynced data from the device. If a fresh sign-in resolves it, you’re done.
- There’s an account-level flag preventing changes (for example, a deactivation flag or a deletion request from a previous interaction that wasn’t completed). These flags can’t be self-cleared – even repeated sign-out/sign-in won’t help.
If signing out and back in doesn’t resolve the error, please reply to your support email (or open a new ticket) and include:
- What you were trying to save when the error appeared
- Your User ID (visible at the top of Settings > Account)
- Whether you’ve already tried signing out and signing back in
Our support team can look up your account and advise further.
iOS
Sign In
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Open Day One
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Tap Settings
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Tap Sign In
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If login credentials from Safari have been saved to Keychain, you will see a list of login options. Choose the desired account to sign in. Or, tap Cancel to exit this view to choose Sign in with Apple or Other options to sign in with Day One account (email and password).
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Tap Enable Sync on the popup.
Sign in with Apple
Sign in with Day One account
Sign Out
Use caution when signing out, as it will remove all data from the app, including any un-synced data. We recommend you export your data for safety before logging out.
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Open Day One
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Tap Settings
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Tap your account (Name, email) at the top.
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Tap Sign Out.
- At this point, all your data will be removed from the app
macOS
Sign In
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Open Day One and click Day One > Settings in the file menu.
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Click the Sync tab.
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Click Sign In
There are two options to sign into Sync. Click the option to Sign in with Apple if you use this method.
If Touch ID is not available on the Mac, use the password to unlock the Mac to authenticate.
Or click Other options… to manually sign into a standard Day One account with email and password.
On macOS, if presented with the following security screen, please use touch ID, or your passcode to unlock the app. This is not shared with Day One. Read more about passcode and biometrics here.
Sign Out
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Open Day One and click Day One > Settings in the file menu.
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Click the Sync tab.
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Click Sign Out.
Note that when you sign out of your Day One account, your journals will be removed from your Mac. You can access them by signing in again.
If you’d like to preserve access to your content while signed out, you can export your entries.
Android
Sign In
- Open Day One
- Tap the Profile icon
- Tap Account – Sign In
- Tap “I have an account” > Sign in with your account (Sign In With Google, Sign In with Apple, or your email and password associated with Day One)
Sign Out
Use caution when signing out, as it will remove all data from the app, including any un-synced data. We recommend you export your data for safety before logging out.
- Tap your Profile
- Tap Account
- Tap Sign Out
Web App and Windows App
Sign In
There are four options to sign into the Web App (https://dayone.me) and Windows App. These include a Day One Account (email), Sign in with Apple, Sign in with Google, and Log in with QR Code.
You can sign in to the Web App (https://dayone.me) or Windows App according to the following steps:
- Enter the Email address and Password for your Day One Account.
- Click Log In.
Log in with Google or Apple
- Select the option to Continue with Google or Continue with Apple.
- Follow the prompts to Log In.
Log in with QR Code
- Scan the QR Code using the mobile device where you have the Day One app installed.
- On the mobile device, the app will display the prompt “Log In to Day One Web?”. Tap Log In to complete sign in.
Sign Out
Web App
Log out of the Web App (https://dayone.me) according to the following steps:
- Select the Settings (gear icon)
- Select Account
- In the Profile section, select Log Out
Windows App
Log out of the Windows App according to the following steps:
- Select File > Log Out
OR
- Select File > Settings
- Select Account
- In the Profile section, select Log Out
*Plus is a per-platform account status based on the purchase history of Day One. A purchase of Day One iOS ($4.99 USD) and Day One macOS ($39.99 USD) between February 4, 2016 and June 27, 2017 is required to have Plus in Day One on both iOS and Mac. If only one purchase was made, you will have Plus on that platform only.
