What is TripDay?
TripDay is your private travel field journal. It helps you plan your trip, capture what actually happens, and hold onto the memories long after you're home.
Everything stays on your device. No account required. No cloud. No tracking.
Plan · Live · Remember
TripDay treats a trip as a lifecycle — not just a list of dates and bookings.
Plan
Before you leave, use Bookings, Budget, and Checklists to organize flights, hotels, transport, and costs. These are real commitments with real consequences if forgotten.
Live
Once the trip starts, reality takes over. Day Cards, Expenses, Places, Links, and Journal entries capture what actually happened — not just what was planned.
Remember
After the trip, the memories remain. TripDay is designed to help you rediscover them privately, on your own terms, long after you return.
Live carries a double meaning — the present moment as it unfolds, and to live, to be fully inside an experience worth capturing. Most travel apps only mean the first. TripDay reaches toward both.
Your Data & Privacy
✓ No account required
✓ No subscription
✓ No cloud storage
✓ No tracking
✓ No ads
✓ Your data never leaves your device unless you choose to export it
TripDay does not know you exist. There is no server receiving your journal entries, expenses, or plans. Everything is stored locally in your browser on your own device.
If TripDay disappeared tomorrow, your backup files are standard JSON — readable, portable, and never locked away. Your memories don't depend on TripDay staying online.
Backup & Restore
TripDay has two backup types. The difference matters.
Backup all data
Saves everything — all trips, all journal entries, all settings. Use this when switching devices or as a regular safety copy.
Backup this trip only
Saves one trip. Useful for archiving a specific journey. Does not include your journal.
If you're moving to a new phone, always use Backup all data. A single-trip backup will not carry your journal.
Moving to a New Phone
- 1. On your old phone, tap the ⬇ backup button in the top bar
- 2. Choose Backup all data
- 3. Save the file somewhere safe — Google Drive, iCloud, email, or Downloads
- 4. Open TripDay on your new phone
- 5. Tap the ⬆ restore button
- 6. Choose your backup file
- 7. Confirm your trips and journal appear
Restoring a full backup replaces all current data on the new device. That's usually what you want when moving phones.
FAQ
Will app updates erase my data?
No. When TripDay updates, only the app code changes. Your trips and journal are stored locally on your device and are never touched by updates. Your data stays safe as long as you use the same device, the same browser, and do not clear site data. Still, create backups regularly — local browser data can be lost if you clear site data, replace your phone, or if the device has storage problems.
What's the difference between the two backup types?
Backup all data includes everything — trips and journal. Backup this trip only saves one trip and does not include your journal. For safety, always use Backup all data.
Does TripDay work without internet?
Yes. Planning, journaling, expense tracking, and navigation all work fully offline. Live currency rates need a brief connection to update, but your last known rates are always available. You can board a plane, open TripDay, and keep writing.
How do I install TripDay as an app?
TripDay is a Progressive Web App — no App Store needed. On iPhone: tap Share in Safari → Add to Home Screen. On Android: tap the browser menu → Install App. Once installed, TripDay opens full screen and works offline.
How do I print my itinerary?
Use your browser's print function (Ctrl+P on desktop, Share → Print on iPhone). TripDay reformats your timeline for clean printing — useful for immigration forms or offline backups.
Tips
💡 Tomorrow tasks carry forward. Tasks written under Tomorrow will prompt you to import them into the next day's activities. No retyping.
💡 Back up all data before switching devices. Always. Use the ⬇ button in the top bar.
💡 Archived trips are never deleted. Archive keeps your history without cluttering your dashboard. You can restore any trip at any time.
What's Coming
TripDay is actively evolving. Features planned for future versions:
- Global Search across all trips and journal entries
- On This Day — surface memories from past trips on the same date
- Random Memory — revisit a moment from your travels at random
- Additional quality-of-life improvements from real-world use
The best features have always come from actually using the app. That's still how it works.
Release Notes
v1.4.24 — Travel Reality: Bookings & Trip Dates
- Flight bookings can now note the flight number, your seat, and who you booked through
- The "Show at Counter" view sits right at the top of a booking now, and shows your flight, seat, and booking source
- Booking cards read more clearly on phones — tidier grouping, and long titles no longer get cut off
- New, unfinished bookings now appear at the top so they're easy to find and complete
- If your day cards run past your trip's dates, TripDay offers to update the dates or add the missing days
- Shortening a trip only ever offers to remove empty days — any day with a journal, expense, place, link, mood, or booking is always kept
v1.4.22 — Journal Safety Hotfix
- Export now flushes any in-flight journal text before writing the backup file
- A missing or corrupt journal key with real trip data present now shows a warning instead of silently seeding demo entries
- Journal writes are blocked while suspect — the corrupt key is never overwritten before a restore
v1.4.21 — Restore & Day Creation Fixes
- Restored backups now correctly update backup freshness
- Fixed first manually-added day starting one day late
- Fixed false “newer version” warning for older backups
v1.4.20 — Demo Experience Pass
- New users now see two rich demo trips: Japan Adventure (upcoming hero) and Southeast Asia Loop (past memory showcase)
- Demo journal includes a Welcome entry plus three dated memories from Bangkok, El Nido, and Bali
- Hardened demo detection: trips identified by name marker, journal entries tracked by ID with legacy title fallback
- Start Fresh removes all demo trips and all seeded journal entries precisely — real user data is never touched
- Exports and full backups silently filter out demo content — clean slate for real data
- Backup nudges suppressed when only demo data is present — first-time visitors are not prompted to back up sample trips
- Remember phase panel now wires to the most recent past trip: Open the Trip, Trip Highlights, and Journal History buttons
- Trip Highlights deep-link opens the Highlights tab directly — all seven prompts pre-filled in the SEA Loop demo
- Journal History deep-link opens the journal list showing all seeded demo memories
- No schema changes, no new fields, no backend dependencies
v1.4.19 — Counter Mode
- Expanded booking cards now have a Counter button — opens a full-screen view optimised for showing at a check-in desk, hotel counter, or tour operator
- Shows booking title, type badge, status, and payment status at a glance
- Confirmation number displayed in large monospace text with a one-tap copy button
- Type-aware date and time labels: Departure/Arrival for flights, Check-in/Check-out for hotels, Date/Start/End for all other types
- Notes shown in selectable text so staff can read or copy them
- Sections with no data are hidden entirely — no blank placeholders
- Close via the Back button, browser back gesture, or Escape key
- Presentation layer only — no schema, data format, backup, import, or export changes
- No maps, QR codes, uploads, or navigation redesign
v1.4.18 — Daily Runway Pass
- Budget tab now shows a Daily Runway strip: your remaining budget per day at a glance
- Upcoming trips show a planning baseline — remaining budget ÷ total trip days
- Live trips show active spending orientation — remaining budget ÷ days left including today
- Completed trips hide the runway — no noise after you're home
- Over-budget state uses calm, non-shaming language: "Over budget · ~X/day over pace"
- No schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
- No segments, currency zones, or budget architecture changes
v1.4.17 — Booking Conflict Warning Pass
- Booking cards now show a soft ⚠ time conflict badge when two timed bookings overlap on the same day
- Applies to flights, transport, and tours — hotels, dining, and other types are not flagged
- Only fires when both bookings have a start date, start time, and end time — incomplete entries are never flagged
- Conflict detail visible in expanded card: "Overlaps with: [title] · time–time"
- Badge updates live on time field blur and type/status changes — no card collapse or page reload needed
- Advisory only: no blocking saves, no auto-correction, no schema changes
v1.4.16 — Trust Pass
- Dashboard backup freshness strip: always-visible backup age indicator below your active trip — tap "Back up now" to back up instantly
- Menu backup subtitle now shows amber urgency styling when backup is stale (7+ days) or missing
- Trip-tomorrow prompt: a reminder appears when a trip starts the next day and no recent backup exists
- Long-gap prompt: a reminder fires when backup is 7+ days old and new changes have been made since
- No schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.15 — Booking Reliability Pass
- Booking cards no longer reorder or collapse when changing status, type, or payment — select changes now patch the header in-place
- Booking date boundary warning: a yellow badge appears on cards whose dates fall outside the trip's start/end range
- Checklist category deletion now shows an undo toast — matching individual task deletion behaviour
- Default checklist categories (Documents, Money, Tech, Packing, etc.) are now protected with a lock icon — accidental deletion is prevented
- Exchange Rate panel moved from Itinerary tab to Budget tab — currency settings live where budget decisions are made
- No schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.14 — Journey Pass
- Hero section: three-line headline with terracotta period, subtitle, journey bridge connecting words to phase cards
- Bridge elements light up on card hover and selection (phase-blue / teal / rose)
- Phase-card portals redesigned: glyph header, background motif, journal-excerpt example boxes, equation period accent, portal button arrow hover
- Lifecycle markers on trip cards: upcoming = departure dot, in-progress = path dots, completed = destination circle
- Today's Journal card shows path marker in bottom-right corner
- Footer: Journey Mark signature above version and trust line
- Interaction parity: all dashboard cards share lift, shadow, and motif-brighten on hover
- All motion respects prefers-reduced-motion; all hover effects gated behind hover:hover
- Chrome-only release — no schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.13 — Brand Visual Pass
- Journey Mark added to the topbar (dashboard) and About
- Browser-tab favicon updated to the Journey Mark
- Chrome-only release — no schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.12 — App Icon Pass
- New app icon: the Journey Mark replaces the legacy icon
- Updated home-screen and PWA install icons (512, 192, 180)
- Asset-only release — no schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.11 — Brand Application Pass
- Brand language unified: "Your private travel field journal"
- Trust line on dashboard: local-first · no account · no cloud
- Removed airplane iconography from app chrome
- Copy-only release — no schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.10 — Field Test Reliability Pass
- Backup age reminder in the menu — shows when your last backup was taken
- Pre-filled bug report link added to Support & Contact
- Confirmation dialog added before single-trip backup restore
- Defensive hardening for preference storage writes on low-storage devices
- No schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
Field test build. Focus is now on real-world travel validation before future feature work.
v1.4.9 — Support & Contact Pass
- Added Support & Contact section to About modal
- Added contact FAQ entry
- No schema, data format, or feature changes
v1.4.8 — Navigation & Interaction Feedback Pass
- Escape key closes open modals and dialogs on desktop
- Android/browser Back button support for all full-screen modals
- Journal archive grouped by month — current month open, past months collapsed
- Consistent hover and press feedback across Phase Cards, Day Cards, Journal Cards, Trip Cards, Booking Cards, and portal buttons
- Hover styles guarded for touch screens — no sticky hover states on mobile
- No schema, data format, or backup/restore changes
v1.4.7 — Status & Affordance Pass
Completed Day Cards now show a subtle green tint on the header so you can spot finished days at a glance. The completion circle has been removed from the header — Mark Done remains in the day body as before. Section chevrons (Day Journal, Mood Tags, Expenses, Places, Links) are now larger, higher contrast, and use a consistent ▼/▲ pattern. Day card headers have a clearer expand/collapse chevron. Press feedback on tappable rows has been strengthened throughout.
v1.4.6 — Affordance Pass
Section headers are easier to tap with larger hit targets and higher-contrast chevrons. Mood Tags is now collapsible (collapsed by default). Day card headers show an expand/collapse indicator. + Add buttons for Expenses and Places are styled as clear buttons. Phase cards on the home screen gained an "Explore →" footer. Press feedback added to all interactive rows.
v1.4.5 — About Modal Overhaul
Rewrote the About modal with cleaner, user-facing copy. Removed internal release language. Restructured sections for first-time users.
v1.4.4 — Memory Protection Pass
TripDay now saves pending writing and trip edits more aggressively when the app leaves the screen, preserves your place when day cards update in long trips, and gives clearer feedback if an import file cannot be restored. This is a reliability update focused on protecting your travel data during real-world use.
v1.4.3 — Stability & Safety Pass
All confirmation dialogs replaced with TripDay-native modals, eliminating a data-loss risk on iOS PWA. Week-view preference now persists across trip navigation. External link security updated. Minor data normalization improvements.
v1.3.12 — First Trip Experience
Empty trip state now explains what Day Cards are and offers a direct action. REMEMBER panel updated with honest messaging about upcoming memory features.
v1.3.11 — Friction Removal Pass
Starter Template removed from trip creation. Visible Undo button added to the journal toolbar for safer writing on mobile.
v1.3.10 — Homepage Focus Pass
Other Trips collapses by default. Homepage now focuses on your current trip and today's journal.
v1.3.9 — Phase Card Soft Portals
Homepage phase cards now provide quick access to Bookings, Checklist, Budget, Current Trip, and Today's Journal — while remaining educational.
Support & Contact
TripDay is free, local-first, and built without accounts or subscriptions. If you believe in private travel tools that keep your data yours, you can support development here:
Support TripDay ↗
A Note from the Developer
TripDay started as a personal project and grew into something more useful than expected. It's been built and rebuilt, used on real trips, broken in real situations, and improved from real frustrations. Many of its best features exist because they solved a problem during actual travel. That's still how it grows.
The goal was never to build a travel app. The goal was to build something that helps you plan the trip, live the trip, and still remember it clearly years later.
If it becomes part of how you travel — that's enough.
If future options to support development are added, they'll be optional, one-time, and never required to use the app. No subscriptions. No pressure. No guilt.