A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence… that sort of stuff).
So… how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up…)
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Dedicated, airgapped (not internet connected) device with strong password.
Veracrypt hidden volume attached to an air gapped system. Unless someone kicks down the door and grabs you faster than you can click once, no one is getting at, or will realize that data exists.
Could even put it on a USB drive, so killing it is as simple as yanking the USB. Hell, if the feds come sniffing, you could just toss that bitch in the microwave.
Paper jounal may not be backable up, but they are not affected by bit rot, cannot be tracked or detected by any means, they are partially or totally destroyable, and helps freeing the pressuring throughts from your head, so you would be less vulnerable under torture.
Also, one can log what you type on a device even before it is encrypted (if we assume the worst scenario). So i think keeping a paper diary, even with the comfort flaws, stay the safest option (if you hide it well and doesn’t reveal its existence).
Digitally create an encryption method. Hand write the journal using that encryption method
When I was a teen it wasn’t the government I was afraid of, but digital devices were just as likely to be read as paper. What I did was keep anything I needed to be private at school, work, a friend’s. Is any of that an option? Would a super old laptop with a fresh OS that you never connect to the internet be safe in your home?
Well, there aren’t that many people who can read Gregg shorthand. That’s more encoding than encryption though
Can you keep the paper journal in a locked drawer? Will your homies seriously try to break in or pick the lock? Could you use a non-networked computer (old laptop) to encrypt the files, and lock that in a drawer?
