Practicing gratitude is an extremely simple way to bring yourself back into a more positive mindset. Noting a couple of things you are grateful for every day can help you focus on what you do have, rather than allowing yourself to feel inadequate by focusing on what you don’t.
While you don’t need a phone app to practice gratitude, using an app on your phone rather than simply practicing gratitude in your head can help you to make gratitude journaling a daily habit. Here are six of the best Android apps to help you practice daily gratitude.
1. Presently
For people who don’t want to spend a lot of time filling out their gratitude list each day, Presently is the perfect app. The app is extremely basic and has a sleek minimalistic design, making it effortless to record your daily gratitudes. Yet despite the simplicity, it still manages to be beautiful, with 20 delicate themes helping to add a pop of color to your journal.
If you miss a day, or two (or ten), then don’t panic—with one click, you can open your calendar and back-fill your journal entries.
While Presently may be one of the simpler gratitude apps on this list, it still ticks all the boxes. From the app settings, you can set yourself a daily notification reminder to fill out your gratitude entry and lock your journal with your fingerprint. My personal favorite feature is the ability to scroll through your gratitude list without needing to open up each individual entry.
Download: Presently (Free)
2. Gratitude
Gratitude is a well-rounded app that not only helps you to practice daily gratitude but also incorporates affirmations and a vision board.
The app has been thoughtfully designed to provide a safe space for personal improvement and gently guides you through each of its features to ensure that you know how to get the most from the app.
You can record your daily gratitude and also have the option to make use of the app’s self-affirmation page. This helps you choose one or more self-affirmations and then encourages you to set a reminder time to recite your affirmations to yourself each day.
From the Daily Zen page, you can view a quote of the day and find daily motivation alongside tips and blog posts. For users who enjoy vision boarding, the app has a built-in vision board feature that enables you to collect your own visual inspiration, and organize them into your own sections.
All of these features are available on the free version of the app, but if you would like extended features, there’s the option to upgrade to Gratitude Pro.
Download: Gratitude (Free, subscription available)
3. Three Good Things
Three Good Things is a gratitude app designed to encourage the you to record the three best things that happened to you every day. The app doesn’t require a sign-in and so is quick to set up and can be accessed in seconds.
Like Presently, Three Good Things has been built with simplicity in mind. The app’s design is simple, clean, and minimalistic, closely resembling the look and feel of journaling on paper.
While the app’s core features are free for all users, to unlock night mode, gain the ability to download a PDF of your entries, or list five good things instead of three, you will need to purchase an annual subscription. However, if you're simply looking to keep a record of three good things each day, the free version of the Three Good Things app is perfect.
Download: Three Good Things (Free, subscription available)
4. Bliss Gratitude Journal
While Bliss may not be as aesthetically pleasing as some of the other apps on this list, what it lacks in design, it makes up for with content.
The app has been designed to work as a daily gratitude journal but goes beyond by offering a range of writing exercises designed to change your outlook and perspective.
Some of the writing exercises available include Best Possible Feature, which is designed to increase optimism helping users to identify the things that are most important to them; Transforming Problems, which helps users transform troubles into sources of meaning, and motivation; and Meaning in Work, which is aimed at helping people to change the way they view their career and to find motivation and passion for the job they are doing.
For users who want to spend more time journaling, Bliss has plenty to keep you busy.
Download: Bliss (Free)
5. 365 Gratitude Journal
If you like to practice gratitude as a part of a wider community, then 365 Gratitude Journal can help to connect you with more than half a million people from across the globe.
While Presently and Three Good Things are minimalist gratitude apps, 365 Gratitude Journal is anything but. You'll find dozens of features within the app, including courses, thank you cards to send friends, 5-minute journal activities, games, meditations, affirmations, and access to a community forum.
For those who wish to incorporate gratitude into their lives alongside other self-help practices such as meditation and daily affirmations, 365 Gratitude Journal provides a one-stop shop. Unfortunately, to access all of these great features, you will need to pay a subscription fee once your 7-day free trial expires.
Download: 365 Gratitude Journal (Free trial, subscription required)
6. Happyfeed
Lastly, we have the vibrant and fun journaling app, Happyfeed. After signing up, users are encouraged to take a moment to reflect each day, and even have the option to upload an image with their entry. At the end of the month, any images that have been uploaded to the app will be combined into a Joy Recap for you to look back on.
If you enjoy journaling with your friends or family, then Happyfeed’s Pod feature will enable you to create a private pod to share progress and moments with a select group of friends—there’s even the option to join a random pod with random app users if you prefer.
If Presently and Three Good Things are too basic for you, but the 365 Gratitude Journal app and Bliss ask a little too much, Happyfeed provides a perfect middle ground.
Download: Happyfeed (Free)
Incorporating Meditation Into Your Daily Practice
While self-help apps are no substitute for professional mental health services, they can help you to manage stress and anxiety. Gratitude journaling is a proven self-care practice that can help you to increase your overall feelings of happiness.
Aside from practicing gratitude, meditation is also a popular self-care practice that can help you to be more aware of your thoughts. Together, gratitude and meditation are a powerful combination that can truly change your thought process and general outlook on life.
