My Password Journal

Childhoods are filled with excitement—whether it’s experiencing a first crush or going through trivial friend group drama, an eight-year-old’s life is filled with secrets. However, with a roaming sibling or a sneaky friend, it’s unlikely for one to find a safe space to express these thoughts in an intimate fashion. Luckily, My Password Journal was here to listen.

Developed in the early 2000s, My Password Journal was designed by Girl Tech founder Janese Swanson. It is an interactive toy journal that uses voice recognition and requires a spoken phrase to unlock. The journal is inside a plastic case around the size of a regular notebook. The phrase spoken by the owner unlocks the cover and reveals a notebook, an invisible ink pen, a bendable glow light lamp that reveals the ink and a small compartment behind the notebook. In those sheets of papers, one could write their secrets, desires and more, knowing that they are the only one with access to this private information. The compartment behind the notebook allows one to store treasured personal possessions hidden away from outsiders. Intruders were not welcomed and were warned away by an intruder alert— pre-recorded by the owner—that played whenever the wrong keyword phrase was spoken.

Swanson’s mission was to encourage the implementation of technology (overwhelmingly found in boys’ toys) in girls’ toys and overcome gender stereotypes in the toy industry. After Girl Tech was bought by electronic game company Radica Games, a branch of toy company Mattel, My Password Journal became manufactured in more colors. My Password Journal was discontinued in 2014, but collected or used versions can still be found.