Which to-do apps can read your tasks?
Almost all of them, as it turns out — not through malice, just because encrypting data on a server you also hold the keys to is the normal way to build software. Below is where six well-known apps actually stand, taken from their own documentation rather than from roundups.
| App | End-to-end encrypted | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Todoist | No | Todoist is a far more capable task manager. Coffee Pad is the one that cannot read your tasks. |
| Google Keep | No | Keep is quicker to start and syncs everywhere. Coffee Pad is for the lists you would rather Google did not hold in plaintext. |
| Apple Reminders | Optional | With Advanced Data Protection turned on, Reminders is genuinely private. The real differences are that it is off by default, and that Reminders is Apple-only. |
| Standard Notes | Yes | Both encrypt in the browser. Standard Notes is the more serious, better-audited product; Coffee Pad is a to-do list rather than a notes app with a checklist editor. |
| Lunatask | Yes | Both encrypt end-to-end. Lunatask does far more — habits, mood, journalling, prioritisation frameworks. Coffee Pad deliberately does not. |
| Obsidian | Yes | Obsidian is vastly more powerful and will do anything you can be bothered to set up. Coffee Pad is what you use when you do not want to set anything up. |
| Coffee Pad | Yes | Sealed in your browser with AES-256-GCM before it is sent. The database holds ciphertext. |
Checked in . Each page links to the source it came from, and two of these — Standard Notes and Lunatask — encrypt end-to-end just as this one does; the comparison there is about scope, not privacy.
Coffee Pad vs Todoist
Todoist encrypts your tasks at rest but holds the keys. Coffee Pad seals them in your browser. An honest comparison of what each one can read.
Coffee Pad vs Google Keep
Google Keep is fast and free, and Google can read every note in it. Coffee Pad encrypts your to-dos in the browser so nobody else can.
Coffee Pad vs Apple Reminders
Apple Reminders is end-to-end encrypted — but only if you switch Advanced Data Protection on. Here is what that means and where Coffee Pad differs.
Coffee Pad vs Standard Notes
Standard Notes is an excellent end-to-end encrypted notes app with checklists. Coffee Pad is a to-do list. Which you want depends what you write.
Coffee Pad vs Lunatask
Lunatask is an end-to-end encrypted to-do list, habit tracker and journal in one. Coffee Pad does one of those. An honest comparison.
Coffee Pad vs Obsidian
Obsidian is a local-first markdown vault with end-to-end encrypted sync and task plugins. Coffee Pad is a to-do list with nothing to configure.
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