A private to-do list for Mac and iPhone, no account needed
Alcove needs no account. You install it and start, and your tasks sync through your own iCloud. Its App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected, and the app has no analytics. Speak tasks transcribes your voice on the device and uses Apple's on-device model, with Apple's Private Cloud Compute only for long rambles on iOS 27 and macOS 27. Apple Reminders and Lista also need nothing beyond your Apple Account, while Things needs a free Things Cloud account to sync, and Todoist, TickTick and Microsoft To Do need their own accounts.
Most to-do apps ask for an email address before you've written a single task. That account usually means your tasks live on the app maker's servers, alongside whatever analytics the app sends. For a shopping list it may not matter. For a list that holds your health appointments, money worries and half-formed plans, it might.
How I checked. I make Alcove, so read this with that in mind. The other apps' details come from their App Store privacy labels, websites and help pages, checked on 8 October 2026; I didn't install them for this page.
What "no account" means in Alcove
- Install and start. There's no sign-up, email address or password, and nothing to verify.
- Sync through your own iCloud. Sync is on unless you turn it off. Your tasks, lists, notes and boards go to the private iCloud database of your Apple Account, which only your Apple Account can read. There's no Alcove server, so I can't see your lists.
- A new device. Install Alcove and sign in to the same Apple Account, and your lists arrive through iCloud.
- A lost iPhone. Your tasks are still in your iCloud and on your other devices. Set up the new phone the same way. For a copy you hold yourself, use Export as Markdown in Alcove's settings.
- iCloud turned off, or no iCloud account. Alcove keeps working on that device alone. If you sign in to iCloud later, it catches up on its own.
- The purchase. The free trial and the $29.99 unlock go through the App Store, and Alcove only asks the App Store whether your Apple Account has them. Family Sharing covers the unlock.
Which to-do apps need an account?
| App | Account to sync | Where your tasks are stored | App Store privacy label | AI features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Reminders | Your Apple Account | Your iCloud | Linked to you: user content, identifiers. Not linked: usage data, for analytics | From iOS 27, describe a reminder in plain language with Apple Intelligence |
| Lista | None; your Apple Account's iCloud | Your iCloud | Not linked to you: identifiers and usage data, for analytics | None on its website |
| Things 3 | A free Things Cloud account, with an email address | Things Cloud, Cultured Code's sync service, encrypted at rest | Linked to you: user content. Not linked: diagnostics | Works with the new Siri on iOS 27 (version 3.24) |
| Todoist | Todoist account | Todoist's servers | Linked to you: contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics, including for analytics and the developer's marketing | Ramble voice capture and other AI features, run on Todoist's own infrastructure |
| TickTick | TickTick account | TickTick's servers | Linked to you: contact info, user content, identifiers and diagnostics, including for analytics and the developer's marketing. Not linked: device ID, usage data and performance data | AI Assistant and voice add; TickTick says voice data isn't stored or used for training |
| Microsoft To Do | Microsoft account | Exchange Online, under your Microsoft account | Linked to you: coarse location, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics | None in its App Store listing |
| Alcove (I make it) | None; your Apple Account's iCloud | Your devices and your iCloud | Data Not Collected | Speak tasks, with Apple's on-device model or Private Cloud Compute |
App Store privacy labels are the developer's own answers, which Apple doesn't verify, and "linked to you" covers things like your account email as well as tracking. They're still the best like-for-like comparison there is.
If you share lists with a partner or family, Lista is the better fit: it needs no account either and shares lists in real time, which Alcove doesn't do. If you want free and built in, Apple Reminders asks for nothing beyond the Apple Account you already have. Alcove is for one person who wants tasks, notes, boards and a calendar together, and the Mac menu bar. For the cost of each, see to-do apps without a subscription, and for a closer look at the built-in option, Alcove vs Apple Reminders.
How Alcove uses AI, and where it runs
Alcove uses a language model in one place: Speak tasks, which turns a spoken ramble into separate tasks.
- Your voice is transcribed on the device. Alcove uses Apple's on-device speech recognition only. If your language has no on-device speech model, Speak tasks tells you so rather than sending audio anywhere.
- The words become tasks with Apple's models. On iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 and later, with Apple Intelligence on, Apple's on-device model reads the transcript. On iOS 27 and macOS 27, a ramble of more than about 250 words, or one the on-device model can't take, goes to Apple's larger model through Private Cloud Compute. Only the text goes, never the audio.
- Without Apple Intelligence, built-in rules do it. Speak tasks still works, and you check each task before adding.
- Typed quick add never uses a model. ⌥ Space on the Mac and quick add on iPhone read the day, time, length, list, tag, priority and repeat with built-in rules on the device.
Apple says Private Cloud Compute uses your data only to answer the request, doesn't keep it afterwards, and doesn't make it available to anyone, Apple staff included. There's more on Speak tasks in speak your to-do list.
What can leave your device
Listed plainly, these are the only times Alcove sends anything off your device:
- iCloud sync, to your own private iCloud database, through Apple, when sync is on.
- The App Store, through Apple, to check for the trial or the unlock.
- Link titles. When you attach a web link, Alcove can fetch that page's title from the website itself.
- Private Cloud Compute, for a long Speak tasks ramble on iOS 27 and macOS 27, as above.
- An AI assistant you connect, on the Mac only. Alcove's MCP server is off until you turn it on, each assistant waits for your approval, and you choose whether it may read, create, update or delete. Whatever you let it read goes to that assistant's app, and its provider's privacy policy applies. See connecting an AI assistant, and to-do apps that work with Claude for how other apps handle it.
Siri and Shortcuts requests are handled by Apple, and Alcove answers them from the data on your device. The app has no analytics, advertising or tracking code, and this website sets no cookies and runs no analytics either. The full details are in the privacy policy.
What the AI parts need
Alcove itself runs on macOS 14 and iOS and iPadOS 17.4 or later. The model parts of Speak tasks need Apple Intelligence, which Apple lists for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 and later, iPhone Air, iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPads and Macs with M1 or later, with the device and Siri set to the same supported language. Private Cloud Compute for long rambles needs iOS 27 or macOS 27 as well.
On a device without Apple Intelligence, nothing is missing except the smarter splitting: Speak tasks uses Alcove's own rules, typed quick add works as always, and your tasks sync the same way. Syncing between iPhone and Mac is covered in the iPhone to-do list app.
Sources
Checked in October 2026:
- Alcove: Tasks & Notes on the App Store, and Alcove's privacy policy
- App Store privacy labels: Reminders, Lista, Things 3, Todoist, TickTick and Microsoft To Do
- Set up iCloud for Reminders on all your devices, Apple Support
- Lista, Tomatique
- Syncing with Things Cloud, Cultured Code
- Dictate to add tasks with Ramble and Todoist AI tools
- TickTick Help Center, including its AI Voice Add article
- Which accounts can I use Microsoft To Do with?, Microsoft Support
- How to get the next generation of Apple Intelligence, Apple Support
- Private Cloud Compute: a new frontier for AI privacy in the cloud, Apple Security Research
- 9to5Mac, Reminders just got more powerful, here's what's new in iOS 27
Questions people ask
Does Alcove need an account?
No. There's no sign-up, email address or password. Your tasks sync between your Mac, iPhone and iPad through the private iCloud database of your Apple Account, and the purchase goes through the App Store.
Which to-do apps work without an account?
Apple Reminders, Lista and Alcove all sync through iCloud with just your Apple Account. Things works without an account on a single device, but needs a free Things Cloud account to sync. Todoist, TickTick and Microsoft To Do need their own accounts.
Does Alcove use AI, and does my voice leave my device?
Only in Speak tasks, and your voice stays on the device. Speech is transcribed on the device; turning the words into tasks uses Apple's on-device model, or for a ramble of more than about 250 words on iOS 27 and macOS 27, Apple's Private Cloud Compute. Typed quick add uses built-in rules, not a model.
Does Alcove work offline?
Yes. Everything is stored on the device, so you can add, edit and tick off tasks without a connection, and iCloud brings your other devices up to date when you're back online.
What happens to my tasks if I lose my iPhone?
They're still in your iCloud and on your other devices. Install Alcove on the new iPhone, sign in to the same Apple Account, and your lists come back through iCloud. You can also keep your own copy with Export as Markdown in Alcove's settings.
Do I need Apple Intelligence to use Alcove?
No. Everything works without it, including Speak tasks, which then uses Alcove's own rules and asks you to check each task before adding. With Apple Intelligence, Speak tasks splits a long ramble more smartly.