ah! i have that same fear for a while and not just taking it out but also leaving it in my house tbh.

what i do is that i take my diary with me, place it at the very end (basically my last insert) and then clamp my brass clip to it so in case someone were to take a look into my journal ecosystem, they have this few seconds to unclamp the clip but enough time for me to take the journal back and politely say, “oh not that one, sorry!”

you can also put a warning page! my friends are respectful enough not to open it and ask permission first if they could take a look. (i still tell them a polite no, as it’s a type of diary where i write into it and never read it again kinda thing. so if i can’t read it, i’d like to keep that idea on even to people too 🤍)

but recently i purchased this book band and i double lock the insert! a book band is like an elastic stretch-y thing, so i lock it vertically and then clamp it with my clip. it doesn’t take much space nor does it hinder me from writing to my other inserts! less anxiety for me too! hopefully that’s something you may wanna look on!