Mindspace is a journal for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac that pulls everything you’d normally find scattered across multiple apps into a single scrollable timeline. The app pulls your writing, photos and videos, voice notes, mood and habit trackers, locations, and tasks together to tell your story. You can even add drawings if you have an iPad and Apple Pencil.

Privacy sits at the core of Mindspace. Entries are stored locally on your device, and iCloud sync uses Apple’s encryption — end-to-end if you have Advanced Data Protection turned on. Nothing is routed through Mindspace’s servers, or anyone else’s for that matter, and a full JSON export is always a tap away in Settings.

The app makes thoughtful use of Apple platform features. A freeform Apple Pencil canvas supports the full palette of available tools, making it a natural place to sketch a diagram, draft a letter, or map out a thought. The Apple Intelligence features run entirely on-device, too. There’s a writing suggestion when you open a blank entry, automatic theme tagging, and a custom journaling prompt for every intention you set. Plus, voice notes recorded inside an entry are transcribed locally using iOS 26’s SpeechAnalyzer, and Apple Health auto-fills steps, heart rate, weight, water, distance, and calories burned into your trackers the moment you open your Today page. There are also Quick Entry, Tasks, and Tracker widgets that make adding and viewing what you track simple.

Visit Mindspace to learn more and download the app. MacStories readers get 50% off their first year automatically at checkout. There’s no code required.

Our thanks to Mindspace for sponsoring MacStories this week.

BetterTouchTool has long been one of the Mac’s most versatile customization tools, offering deep control over trackpad and mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, Stream Deck buttons, Floating Menus, window actions, Apple Shortcuts, and more.

The latest version adds a powerful new Spotlight-like Launcher that brings many parts of your Mac and BTT together in one fast interface. Open it with e.g. a hotkey, gesture, mouse button, or Stream Deck button, then launch apps, run Shortcuts, search and browse files, switch windows, use clipboard history, create reminders or calendar events, control Apple TV, and run BTT actions. The Launcher also handles complex calculations and unit conversions directly in the search field, powered by the excellent Soulver.app.

Your own BTT triggers can appear there too, so personal automations sit alongside apps, files, Shortcuts, and system actions.

One of the Launcher’s most powerful features is native Swift plugin support. Plugins can add rows, commands, nested results, and rich custom interfaces inside the Launcher window, making it possible to build mini apps for BTT: dashboards, device controllers, API clients, automation panels, and more. BetterTouchTool’s built-in [email protected] assistants can even create custom Launcher plugins from a prompt, making advanced customization more approachable for Mac power users.

Since BetterTouchTool’s last sponsored MacStories post, input-device support has expanded too. Native Logitech mouse and keyboard support makes many Logitech devices directly configurable in BTT without extra software, including special keys and remappable buttons. Normal mouse support has gained scroll modifiers, e.g. for smooth scrolling, drag gestures, and trackpad-like interactions such as fluid space switching and zooming, while Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse users continue to get new options for deep gesture customization.

Try BetterTouchTool free for 45 days at folivora.ai. MacStories readers can use MACSTORIESBTT2026 for 20% off a license.

Dropzone is a menu bar productivity tool that gives you a faster way to move, copy, and share files, launch apps, and trigger all sorts of time-saving drag-and-drop actions without breaking your flow.

The newly released Dropzone 5 is a substantial update and has been redesigned for macOS Tahoe with a cleaner interface, smoother animations and support for Liquid Glass.

The update also adds several workflow-focused improvements. Multiple grids make it easy to separate actions by project or context, deeper grid customization gives you more control over categories, columns, and layout, and folder-based actions can now display the custom icons and colors you’ve assigned in Finder, which makes it easier to identify your folders in Dropzone at a glance.

If you like to automate from the command line, Dropzone 5 includes a powerful command line tool for Terminal integration, too. You can run actions, manage files in Drop Bar, and switch between grids via the command line tool, making Dropzone 5 a better fit for scripted workflows than ever before.

Dropzone 5 is available as a free download from Aptonic, with a Pro upgrade available that adds more advanced features.

For a limited time, the Pro upgrade is available at a 30% discount with the coupon code LAUNCH.

Visit Aptonic’s website to learn more and download Dropzone 5.

Our thanks to Dropzone 5 for sponsoring MacStories this week.

If better Mac audio is on your list of resolutions for 2026, the folks at Rogue Amoeba have you covered with SoundSource, their essential audio control app.

SoundSource provides audio control so useful, it ought to be built in to MacOS. Get instant access to your Mac’s audio settings right from the menu bar, with powerful per-app volume and routing control, and the ability to apply effects to any app’s audio.

The newly released SoundSource 6 is a major upgrade, with dozens of enhancements. Updates include supercharged AirPlay support, output groups to send audio to multiple devices at once, Quick Configs that save your entire audio configuration, and a powerful new Audio Devices window that gives deep control over device settings.

But why just read about it, when you can try it out? Download SoundSource’s fully functional free trial with just one click. You’ll be up and running in under a minute.

When you’re ready, you can purchase a license with a special discount just for MacStories readers. Save 20% with code MACSTORIESNEWYEAR26 in their store. Act fast, since this deal expires on Valentine’s Day. If you love audio on your Mac, you’ll love making it better with SoundSource.

Our thanks to Rogue Amoeba for sponsoring MacStories this week.