Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Reporter iPhone App Extracts Patterns and Habits From Daily Journals

The creator of Facebook Timeline and the Feltron personal annual report, Nicholas Felton, has a new iPhone app.

For those who are feeling introspective, would like to better understand the sum total of their lives and want to spend $3.99 on an iPhone app, there’s now Reporter, a new project from information designer Nicholas Felton. Felton has noodled for years on the notion of personal annual reports in the form of infographics, and he’s credited with leading design on Facebook Timeline.

Reporter pings users throughout the day to quiz them about their activities, while recording ambient data about things like the weather and the sound level. It stores information locally, so people can assuage their concerns about personal data leaks.

There are already a number of other quality journaling apps, including Day One and Heyday, but Reporter may be the most focused on extracting patterns and habits over time.

Nostalgia and reflection seem to be having a bit of a comeback on the Internet, perhaps as a response to years of self-promoting and oversharing. (I for one have been sucked into watching more than my fair share of Facebook “Look Back” videos this week.)

Felton previously created a more open-ended journaling app called Daytum, which Facebook bought. Reporter was built with xt and the app development company Friends of the Web.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh