Encrypted to-do list apps (2026)

Almost every to-do app encrypts your tasks twice, on the way to its servers and on the disks where they sit, and almost none encrypts them so that the company itself can't read them. If "encrypted" means to you that nobody but you can read your list, the apps that publish that claim are few: Apple Reminders once Advanced Data Protection is on, Lunatask, Super Productivity's optional encrypted sync, and, for the notes you mark private, Notif, the one I built.

Below: what each kind protects you from, then each app in its own security page's words, linked so you can check. I make Notif, so read that part knowing who wrote it. Private reminders on iPhone is a separate article.

Three things "encrypted" can mean

In transit. Your tasks are scrambled between your phone and the company's servers, so nobody on the coffee shop Wi-Fi can read them. That's HTTPS, or TLS, and every app below has it; the server unscrambles them on arrival, so it protects the road, not the destination.

At rest, company keys. The company's disks are encrypted and the company keeps the keys. That stops someone walking off with a drive, not the company's own systems, which read your tasks every time you open the app, or anyone who gets into them. "Encrypted at rest" and nothing more means this.

End-to-end. Your tasks are scrambled on your device before they leave it, and only your devices hold the keys, so the company stores something it cannot read. Nobody can help you if you lose your password, and details like a task's status or dates often stay readable so the app can still sort and sync.

The fourth answer is not to send the tasks anywhere; then the only question is what your phone's backup does with them.

Apple Reminders: standard protection vs Advanced Data Protection

Apple Reminders syncs through iCloud (Reminders guide), and Apple's iCloud data security overview describes iCloud's two modes.

Standard data protection is the default: "The encryption keys from your trusted devices are secured in Apple data centers, so Apple can decrypt your data on your behalf whenever you need it." In the overview's table, the Reminders row reads "In transit & on server" with key storage "Apple".

Turn on Advanced Data Protection and the same row reads "End-to-end" with the keys on "Trusted devices". Apple's Advanced Data Protection page: "No one else can access your end-to-end encrypted data, not even Apple, and this data remains secure even in the case of a data breach in the cloud."

The catches. "Apple doesn't have the encryption keys needed to help you recover your end-to-end encrypted data," so you set up a recovery contact or key first, and every device needs iOS 16.2 or later. A footnote says reminders synced using CalDAV don't support end-to-end encryption, so a Google or Exchange list is untouched. Shared content stays end-to-end only "as long as all participants have Advanced Data Protection enabled."

It's in Settings, your name, iCloud, Advanced Data Protection, and can be turned off at any time.

Notif: private notes, encrypted on your iPhone

Notif is the reminders app I make for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo. Every note is a real reminder in Apple Reminders, in Notif's own list, so in iCloud a normal note has whatever the Reminders row above gives your account. No account; notes are never stored on Notif's servers.

Encryption in Notif is per note. Private notes are encrypted on your iPhone with AES-256, opened with Face ID. A note you mark private is never sent to Notif's server or to any AI, and marking it private takes it out of Apple Reminders; the privacy policy says it "is excluded from the AI features, from widgets, and from every network feature, enforced in code." Private notes come with you through iCloud Keychain. Keep it on in Settings, or a new iPhone can't open them. Marking a note private is part of Notif Pro, $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, cancel any time.

The other half, plainly: a note you have not marked private can be sent, one at a time, over HTTPS to Notif's server and on to an AI provider to write its Insight; the policy lists what goes with it, and Notif's server "does not store your note content, and Notif's logs never contain note text." Like the rest of Notif's data on your iPhone, a private note is part of your own iPhone backup. If you want your whole list encrypted so the company can't read it, Notif is not that app.

Lunatask

Lunatask calls itself an "Encrypted to-do list, life-tracking, journaling and notes app," and its Encryption & Privacy page is the clearest here: your data is "encrypted on your device before it's sent to be securely stored in our cloud and synced across all your devices." "Secret keys generated from the password you chose during sign-up are used for encryption. We don't have access to the private key required to decrypt your data." The page names its algorithms (Curve25519, XSalsa20, Poly1305, Argon2id) and library (NaCl).

It's honest about the edges: "other details (metadata) about a task, such as its status, priority, or assigned dates, are stored unencrypted," and if you forget your master password, "the only option is to reset your account," after which "your existing data will by nature be lost."

Free with limits; Premium is $6 a month paid annually or $8 a month, per its pricing page as of October 2026.

Todoist

Todoist's security policy covers the first two kinds and not the third. In transit: "we use TLS 1.2 and 1.3 secure channels." At rest: "We use Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers to host all user data," and "Projects, tasks, comments, account information, and payment information are all stored and encrypted at rest." Its pricing page adds SOC2 Type II certification. No end-to-end claim, so the keys stay with Todoist.

Free; Pro is $5 a month billed yearly ($60) or $7 monthly, per its plans FAQ as of October 2026. As a reminders app: Notif vs Todoist.

TickTick

TickTick's security page says: "All the databases and servers are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the United States," and "User data, including task details, account information and payment details, are all stored and encrypted at rest." Its privacy policy covers the wire: "SSL protocol secures all data and information transmitted with Service." No end-to-end claim, no named cipher, so the keys stay with TickTick.

Free; Premium is US$49.99 a year on its upgrade page, or $4.99 a month in the App Store, as of October 2026.

Microsoft To Do

Microsoft's data storage and compliance page says "your to dos are stored as tasks in your Exchange Online mailbox," and that "Data is encrypted at rest on Exchange servers and in transit to and from the To Do app on your browser or device." No cipher is named, no end-to-end claim, so the keys stay with Microsoft.

Its product page says: "Use Microsoft To Do for free and sync your lists across the web and iOS, Android, and Windows devices"; the support page adds Mac. You sign in with a Microsoft account.

Google Tasks

Google publishes no encryption page for Tasks. Its Workspace encryption page says "Customer data that is uploaded or created in Google Workspace services is encrypted at rest, as described in the list below," then names Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Keep and nine others; Tasks isn't on the list. Google's privacy policy says "We use encryption to keep your data private while in transit." So: encrypted in transit, probably at rest, but Google doesn't say so about Tasks, and no end-to-end option.

Web, plus iPhone, iPad and Android apps, under your Google Account. Free.

Super Productivity, and Tasks.org

Super Productivity takes the fourth answer: "Your tasks stay on your device by default," "No account needed · Works offline," free and open source. Sync through your own Dropbox or WebDAV, where "Your sync provider only sees encrypted data files" (privacy page), or through its optional Super Sync service in Germany, where its privacy policy says "End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is available." The Super Sync policy is candid that standard sync uses "No end-to-end encryption," and that with it on, "We have no access to your keys" and the operator "cannot restore, decrypt, or view the data."

On Android, Tasks.org is the open-source cousin: "Use offline, self-host, or setup EteSync for end-to-end encryption." Its sync comparison marks end-to-end encryption only for EteSync, not Tasks.org's own cloud; EteSync describes itself as "end-to-end encrypted."

Side by side

Who should pick which

• Apple's app, with Apple unable to read your list: Reminders with Advanced Data Protection on, recovery key kept safe, iCloud lists only
• Everything encrypted so the company can't read it: Lunatask; a forgotten master password means a wiped account
• Nothing in anyone's cloud: Super Productivity, kept local; on Android, Tasks.org offline or over EteSync
• A mainstream app, where "encrypted at rest" is enough: Todoist, TickTick, Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks; pick by features
• Reminders in Apple Reminders, with the occasional note no server or AI should ever see: Notif, with that note marked private

The honest verdict

Encrypted at rest with the company holding the keys is what the big apps offer: a fair baseline against a stolen drive, not against the company itself. The real question is who holds the keys, and only two apps here put them solely in your hands for your whole list: Lunatask by design, and Apple Reminders once Advanced Data Protection is on. Super Productivity gets there by not sending anything unless you ask. Notif draws the line per note.

If a page says "encrypted" without saying who holds the keys, assume the company does. If you want your entire list encrypted so nobody but you can read it, Lunatask is the better pick; I say that as the person who makes Notif.

See also Notif vs Apple Reminders. Notif is free on the App Store: get Notif.

Questions

What's the difference between encrypted at rest and end-to-end encrypted?

Encrypted at rest means the company's disks are encrypted and the company holds the keys, so its own systems can still read your tasks. End-to-end encrypted means your tasks are scrambled on your device and only your devices hold the keys, so the company can't read them and can't recover them if you lose your password

Is Apple Reminders end-to-end encrypted?

Only if you turn on Advanced Data Protection. Apple's iCloud data security overview lists Reminders as encrypted in transit and on server with the keys held by Apple under standard data protection, and as end-to-end encrypted with the keys on your trusted devices under Advanced Data Protection. Reminders synced through CalDAV, such as a Google or Exchange list, never are

Is Todoist end-to-end encrypted?

No. Todoist's security policy says your data travels over TLS 1.2 and 1.3 and that projects, tasks and comments are stored and encrypted at rest on Amazon Web Services. It makes no end-to-end claim, so the keys stay with Todoist

Are notes in Notif encrypted?

Only the ones you mark private, which is part of Notif Pro. Private notes are encrypted on your iPhone with AES-256, opened with Face ID, and are never sent to Notif's server or to any AI. A note that isn't private can be sent, one at a time, to Notif's server and an AI provider to write its Insight

Which to-do apps can't read my tasks?

Lunatask by design, since it encrypts your tasks with keys made from your master password, and Apple Reminders once Advanced Data Protection is on. Super Productivity if you keep your tasks on your device or turn on its encrypted sync. In Notif, a note you mark private never reaches Notif's server at all

If I forget my password in an end-to-end encrypted app, can the company recover my tasks?

No, and that's the point: Lunatask says the only option is to reset your account and your existing data is lost, and Super Sync says it cannot restore, decrypt or view the data. Apple says it doesn't have the keys to recover end-to-end encrypted data, so you need your device passcode, a recovery contact or a recovery key