Export a family journal: check your memories before changing applications

Decide what you need to take with you

List the important elements: text, dates, pictures, sound and the information connecting a file to its memory. Sharing permissions and relatives’ accounts are different kinds of data. Do not assume another application will recreate them.

Pick three checks: a photograph memory, an audio and an older note. Write their titles in a short list outside the site so you can look for them in the downloaded files.

Open the archive outside the journal

The current Parent Journey export provides a ZIP archive containing journal data in JSON and associated media. ZIP is a compressed package of files. JSON is structured text, usually less comfortable to read than a journal page.

Use your device’s extraction function after downloading. Open a picture in your usual image viewer and a sound in an audio player. Inspect the text data with a text editor too, without changing your only copy.

If something is missing or cannot open, keep the account and its memories while investigating. An empty, partial or unreadable archive is not a completed backup.

Check the connections between stories and files

A folder full of photographs is not enough if you cannot identify the accompanying captions. For each of your three examples, check its title, date, text and associated media. Note special cases such as approximate dates, several attachments or accented filenames.

Keep a short explanation alongside the archive: export date, originating application, expected contents and what you checked. It can help another person understand the files in the future.

Plan the next step without assuming automatic import

Parent Journey does not currently restore accounts automatically from the ZIP. Another service may require a different format. Test its import with a copy before transferring everything. You may also choose to recreate a small selection manually.

Keep the original archive unchanged and maintain an independent copy. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr’s backup guidance provides a starting point for regular checks. Revoking old access and deleting an account are separate decisions to make after checking your files and how you will read them next.