Settings

Settings is where you set 2Do's defaults: how tasks look, when they alert you, where new tasks land, how they sync, and who can see them. Open it with the gear button at the bottom of the lists panel.

Settings is organized into fourteen panes. On iPhone you pick a pane from the list and it opens on its own screen. On iPad the panes stay in a sidebar beside the pane you are reading. The main screen also carries the help links and, at the very bottom, 2Do's version. This page follows that same order.

Settings Across Devices

2Do syncs supported app settings over iCloud between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac when they use the same iCloud account. This happens separately from the service you choose for task sync. Allow time for changes to reach your other devices.

General

General holds the handful of preferences that do not belong to any one feature.

Under Device:

• Prevent Device Sleep keeps the screen awake while 2Do is open.
• Landscape Orientation allows 2Do to rotate into landscape.

Under Sounds, Play task completion sounds plays a short sound when you complete a task or mark it as not completed. It is on by default and applies only to this iPhone or iPad.

Under Startup, Open at Launch picks the list 2Do shows when it starts and in each new window on this device. Last Used opens the list you were viewing most recently, and it is used again if the list you picked is no longer available. Switching back to 2Do from another app keeps the list you were viewing.

Under Calendar:

• Week Starts sets the first day of the week used by every calendar and date picker in 2Do. Leave it on Automatic to follow your region. This changes the order of the weekday columns independently of Work Week.

Work Week

Work Week requires the latest 2Do 4 for iPhone and iPad.

Use Work Week under Settings > General, beside Week Starts, to choose the days you work. Date pickers and the mini calendar dim the weekday headings of your days off, so you can see them while planning. For example, if you work Sunday through Thursday, select those five days to mark Friday and Saturday as days off.

The shading depends on the calendar's Busy Days mode. None and Dots also shade your days off. Heat Map uses the backgrounds to show task activity instead, so it adds no shading for days off, even when they have no tasks. The dimmed weekday headings still mark your days off in every mode. See Busy Days for the display options.

2Do follows your system's default working days until you make your own selection. Keep at least one day selected. Tap Reset to return to the system defaults.

Work Week also supplies the days for the Work days repeat shortcut. Applying the shortcut sets a task to repeat on the days selected at that moment. Later changes to Work Week do not rewrite existing repeat rules; apply Work days again to update a task. Changing the setting does not move task dates or prevent you from choosing a day off for a task.

Advanced

Under Advanced in Settings > General, choose the apps that open when you perform a task's Call or Visit action. These choices apply only to this iPhone or iPad and don't sync to your other devices.

Default Calling App

Default Calling App starts on System Default, which uses your device's default calling app. You can also choose FaceTime Audio when FaceTime is available, or WhatsApp once its app is installed.

To pick an app for each call, choose Always Ask. When you perform a Call action, 2Do lists the available apps. Tap the one you want for that call. The setting stays on Always Ask, so 2Do asks again next time. If only one app is available, 2Do opens it without asking.

WhatsApp opens a chat with the number, where you can start the call. It needs the full international phone number, so use + and the country code, such as +44 20 7946 0018. For a local number without a country code, 2Do asks you to update the number instead of opening WhatsApp.

If you remove the calling app you chose, the setting shows System Default and 2Do uses it. Install the app again and 2Do goes back to your choice.

Default Map App

Default Map App sets where a Visit action opens an address. It also applies to the map on the Nearby page: tap a place's pin, then tap the Visit icon beside its name. Apple Maps is the default. Google Maps and Waze appear in the menu once you install them from the App Store.

If you remove the map app you chose, the setting shows Apple Maps and 2Do uses it. Install the app again and 2Do goes back to your choice.

To add a Call or Visit action to a task, see Actions.

Warnings & Tips

Under Warnings & Tips, each row has a Clear button that restores what you have hidden:

• Confirmation warnings restores prompts that were hidden with "Don't Ask Me" choices, including the Auto-Prioritize notice you dismissed with Don't Show Again.
• User Interface Tips brings back the small hints under the date, duration, action, and alert pickers that you crossed out while adding or editing a task.

The button answers with a green checkmark for a moment, then returns to its title.

Appearance

Appearance controls the theme, text size, and how task rows are drawn.

Themes

At the top of the pane, a Light and Dark segmented control picks which system appearance you are editing, and the cards below it choose the theme used for that appearance. 2Do ships two themes, also named Light and Dark.

2Do follows your device's appearance and draws the theme assigned to it, so set both slots and the app changes with the system. There is no separate switch that forces the app to stay light or dark.

tip

Set both Appearance theme slots, not just the one you use today. 2Do then looks right whichever appearance your device switches to.

Display

• Text Size is a five-position slider running from the small A to the large A.
• Content Width (iPad only) adds padding around your tasks for easier reading. It is a three-position slider. Narrow panels use the smallest setting regardless of what you pick, because a readable row width comes first.
• Bolder Task Titles draws task names in a heavier weight.
• Multiline Titles lets long titles wrap onto a second line in the Normal display mode.
• Display Mode chooses Extended, Normal, or Compressed rows. You can also pinch the task list to switch display modes.

Task List

• Show list colors in single-list views is on by default. Turn it off to hide the color bars beside tasks when viewing a single list or project. This does not change when color bars appear in Focus Lists, Smart Lists, or search results. On iPad, expanding a task's row to show the priority controls still shows its color bar.
• Colored Tabs tints list rows in the lists panel with each list's color. Focus Lists and Inbox keep their usual background.
• Show overdue tasks in red colors overdue titles.
• Use friendly dates writes every task date relative to today: Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, a weekday name for dates within the coming week, then In 28 days or 10 days ago. Turn it off to see the calendar date instead, which suits repeating tasks when you want the date of the next occurrence.
• Show durations in headings shows the total duration of the tasks under each heading next to its title, such as 2h 45m. Completed tasks and tasks without a duration are not counted, and a heading with no durations shows no total. When a list is sorted by Duration, headings that already name a duration show no total. See Duration Totals.

Busy Days

Three separate pickers decide how each calendar surface marks the days that already have tasks. Each offers None, Dots, or Heat Map:

• Date Pickers, for the month calendar in the task editor.
• Mini Calendar, for the calendar in the lists panel on iPhone and in the inspector on iPad.
• Calendar Day Bar, for the day strip above the task list.

Learn more in Mini Calendar and Calendar Events in Lists.

Tasks

Tasks sets what happens when you create a task, and what happens after you complete one.

Focus Mode opens a screen listing every one of your lists. Pick a list, then choose the Focus criteria it uses: Overdue, No Due Date, In Progress, Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next 3 Days, Next 7 Days, Next 30 Days, Next 6 Months, Next 12 Months, High Priority, and Starred. You can also change these while viewing a list, by tapping and holding the Focus button above your tasks. See Focus Lists.

Natural Language Input

• Quick Add and Task Editor: with these on, which is how they ship, 2Do reads the details out of a new task's title as you write it and fills in the matching fields. The note under the pair reads: "2Do reads dates, start dates, repeats, duration, priority, tags, lists and locations from what you type and fills them in." Turn either one off to save titles exactly as typed on that surface. The pair appears only when your device is set to one of the languages 2Do can read. See Natural Language Input.

New Tasks

• Getting Things Done® Inbox creates a special Inbox list and makes it your main collection list. 2Do confirms before turning it on. Turning it off asks again, under the title Delete Inbox, because deleting the Inbox also deletes the tasks it contains. That change can be undone.
• Default list is where new tasks go when 2Do cannot use the current list, such as when you add a task from a Focus List. Leave it on Last Used to follow wherever you were working. The picker is disabled while the GTD Inbox is on, because the Inbox is then the default.
• Always Use Default List sends every new top-level task to the default list, even while you are viewing another list.
• Always Use in Quick Add captures into the default list from Quick Add.
• Due Time Shortcuts, Start Date Shortcuts, and Start Time Shortcuts show or hide the one-tap shortcut rows in the task editor's date pickers.

tip

If you capture a lot of loose thoughts, turn on the Getting Things Done® Inbox and Always Use in Quick Add. Everything lands in one place, and you sort it out later.

Default Sorting

Choose how tasks are sorted in each new list, project, or checklist. Open Settings > Tasks and find Default Sorting. Tap the menu beside New Lists, New Projects, or New Checklists to choose a sort field. The same menu lets you choose Ascending or Descending.

New Lists and New Projects are initially set to Due Date in Ascending order. New Checklists is initially set to Manually, which keeps the order you arrange by dragging.

These choices also apply when you convert a normal task into a project or checklist. Changing a default leaves existing lists, projects, and checklists unchanged. For sorting an existing project or converting between a project and a checklist, see Sorting Inside a Project.

Default Due Date

Turn on Default due date for new tasks and pick how far ahead it lands: Same Day, Day After, 2 Days Later, 3 Days Later, 1 Week Later, 2 Weeks Later, or Next Month. Three switches refine it:

• Only use in Quick Entry applies the default only when capturing quickly.
• Do not use in Quick Entry does the opposite.
• Use today's date in the Today list gives tasks added while viewing Today a due date of today instead of the default.

Default Due Time and Default Start Time

Default due time fills in a time the first time you give a task a due date without choosing one. It does not add a time to a task that already has a date-only due date, so changing that date, or a repeating task moving to its next occurrence, leaves it without a time. Default Start Time does the same for start dates. Under each, four Shortcut slots hold the times that appear as one-tap choices in the editor's time pickers.

Time Zone Support

Time Zone Support reveals the Fixed Time Zone switch for timed tasks in ordinary lists. It is off by default. Tasks normally use floating time, so 9:00 AM stays 9:00 AM wherever you are. Turn on a task's Fixed Time Zone switch when its time must represent the same moment in different places.

This preference does not change task dates or make new tasks fixed. Timed tasks in iCloud shared lists, and tasks already using fixed time, offer the control without it. See Floating and Fixed Time.

Overdue

Due Time taken into account when marking a task Overdue decides whether a timed task turns overdue at its due time or only once the day has passed.

Completed Tasks

• Show completed tasks for keeps completed tasks visible for a chosen period, from Never or Always through 1 minute up to 1 month.
• Apply rule to sub-tasks extends that rule to sub-tasks.
• Show tasks completed today in the Today list also appears under Today & Lists, which explains how it works.
• Auto-delete completed tasks removes older completed tasks to keep 2Do, sync, and your connected services running smoothly. Choices run from Never through 1 day up to 1 year.
• Delay sub-tasks by 3 weeks holds completed sub-tasks back from auto-deletion so they do not disappear from their parent too soon.

important

Auto-delete removes tasks permanently. Checked-off items inside a checklist or project count as completed tasks too, so they are removed once they have been completed for longer than the window, or three weeks longer with Delay sub-tasks by 3 weeks on. If you only want completed tasks out of sight, use Show completed tasks for instead.

Today & Lists

Today & Lists decides what the Today list gathers and how lists count and sort.

Under Today List:

• Include overdue items.
• Include starred items, which also pulls in starred tasks from lists you excluded from Today.
• Include 'Still Working On' tasks. Turn it off to hide tasks with past start dates unless they are due today.
• Show tasks completed today in the Today list is off by default. Turn it on to see the tasks you complete today in the Done group at the bottom of the Today list, even if they are due on another day or have no due date.

Completed tasks stay in the Today list until midnight in your local time, including on days when daylight saving time starts or ends. They do not stay for a full 24 hours, so a task you complete at 11:30 PM leaves at midnight. Tasks that leave the Today list are not deleted.

The same switch appears under Tasks > Completed Tasks, and changing either one changes both. It works separately from Show completed tasks for, which still controls how long completed tasks stay visible in your other lists. The Today list keeps its usual rules for excluded, hidden, and locked lists.

Under Focus & Smart Lists:

• Always list matched sub-tasks separately. Turn it off to hide a sub-task when its parent is already in the list.
• Inherit Search keeps the current search or Smart List filtering a project's sub-tasks when you open it. Turn it off to see every sub-task. See Inherit Search in Project View.

Under Sorting:

• Sorting by due date uses grouped dates puts tasks under Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 Days, and Future headings instead of individual dates.
• Sorting by list uses your list order follows the order of your lists and list groups instead of sorting names alphabetically.
• Sort starred items above hi-priority.

Under Counts:

• Counts on lists shows None, Overdue items, or Overdue + Undone beside each list name.
• Include Smart Lists counts Smart Lists too. Turning it off speeds things up if you keep many complex Smart Lists.
• Undone counts should include Overdue tasks includes overdue tasks in the unfinished count. With it on, do not add the red overdue number to the unfinished number: those tasks are already included.

These are the counts beside list names. The app icon badge has its own count option under Alerts & Badge.

See Focus Lists and Smart Lists.

Calendar Events

Calendar Events decides whether your calendar appears above your tasks, and which calendars are included.

Under Display:

• Show Calendar Events in Lists shows your Calendar events above Today and your regular task lists.
• Show Calendar Events in Today shows them above the Today task list only. It is disabled while the broader setting is on.

Under Calendars, each calendar has its own switch. Calendars not listed as disabled are included automatically, so newly added calendars appear by default.

Calendar Access appears until 2Do has permission. Tap Allow Calendar Access, or Open Settings if access was denied. 2Do needs full calendar access to read and show events.

Learn more in Calendar Events in Lists.

Alerts & Badge

Alerts & Badge has two tabs: General and Exclusions.

Notifications

Notification Access reports whether notifications are enabled for 2Do and offers Enable Notifications, or Open Settings when permission was denied.

Alarms

On devices running iOS 26.1 or later, an Alarms section offers Ring alerts as alarms. With it on, a task alert rings like a Clock alarm: full screen, through Silent mode and Focus, and it keeps ringing until you dismiss it. Alarm Access appears alongside it with Enable Alarms until you grant permission.

Only timed alerts ring as alarms. Location alerts, action alerts, and watch alerts stay as normal notifications, and any single task can be set differently in its Alerts panel. See Alerts and Nagging.

Default Reminders

2Do can automatically add a reminder when you give a task a due time or a due date.

• Remind me of tasks with a due time fires At due time, or from 5 minutes before up to 2 days before.
• Remind me of tasks with a due date fires On due date, at one of the same offsets, or at a Custom time. Custom adds Days, Before or after, and Time rows. This applies to tasks with a due date but no due time.

Nagging

• Snooze interval is the snooze used from an alert: Always Ask, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, or 1 day.
• Nag me every repeats an alert until you deal with the task: Off, Every 5 Minutes, Every 15 Minutes, Every 30 Minutes, Every Hour, or Every Day.

Sounds

Alert sound picks the sound 2Do uses. Choosing one plays it straight away.

App Icon Badge

Count on app icon picks what the badge counts: None, All items, Overdue, Today, Due Today Only, Today + Overdue, Today + Tomorrow, Hi-Priority, Starred, Next 3 Days, Next Week, Next Month, Next 6 Months, or Next Year. The row also shows when badges are turned off for 2Do in the system Settings app.

The three Today options count different sets of unfinished tasks:

Option	What it counts
Today	Eligible tasks selected by Today's date and inclusion rules, excluding overdue tasks. Start dates, durations, and the Starred and Still Working On settings can bring tasks into this count.
Due Today Only	Tasks whose due date is today, with or without a due time. A task keeps counting after its due time has passed. Tasks due on another day, or with no due date, never count.
Today + Overdue	The eligible Today tasks plus overdue tasks, counted once each. Overdue tasks count even when Include overdue items is off in Today settings.

Today and Today + Overdue use the lists included in Today, with the starred-task exception from Include starred items. They skip hidden and archived lists and tasks on hold, even if you have revealed paused tasks in the list.

Count distinct tasks when comparing totals. A task due earlier today may already be overdue; Today + Overdue counts it once.

note

When Due Time taken into account when marking a task Overdue is on, the Today badge can decrease during the day without you completing anything. For example, an unfinished task due at 13:22 stops counting once that time passes.

Choose Today + Overdue to keep overdue tasks counted, or Due Today Only to keep counting unfinished tasks throughout their due day.

Due Today Only looks at the due date alone. A task that has already started, or starts today, does not count unless it is also due today. A star or a duration makes no difference.

All three Today badge options follow Smart Scheduling. A task can be due today but not started yet, because its start date or time is still ahead:

• Scheduled tasks shown: it can count before its start time, if it meets the selected badge option's other rules.
• Scheduled tasks hidden: it stays out of the count until its start date and time arrive. For Due Today Only, a task that starts after its due day never counts.

Due Today Only counts only lists included in Today, and skips hidden lists, archived lists, and tasks on hold. Changing the badge option never changes what the Today list shows.

Every badge option counts tasks in password-protected lists, even while those lists or the app are locked.

Each device calculates its own badge count from its local tasks and settings. If the badge differs from the total you expect or from another device, see Why does the app icon badge show a different count?.

Exclusions

The Exclusions tab shows List Alerts: one switch per list, grouped the way your lists panel is grouped. Turn off alerts for any list you don't want to hear from, including lists shared with you.

note

List Alerts are set per device and are not synced. Excluding a list here silences its tasks on this iPhone or iPad only.

tip

Alerts & Badge > Exclusions > List Alerts is the quiet way to keep a shared or reference list out of your notifications without changing anything on its tasks.

Nearby

Nearby controls location-based alerts.

• Nearby Alerts turns the feature on. It will automatically alert you of nearby tasks, taking into account their start and due dates.
• Location Access appears when 2Do needs permission, or when Precise Location is turned off, because nearby alerts may then arrive late or not at all.
• Maximum Distance sets how far out 2Do watches. There are six choices, from 250 metres up to 10 kilometres, and each is shown in the units your device's region uses.
• Manage Locations opens your saved locations, where you can add, search, edit, reorder, and delete them.

Learn more in Nearby Locations.

Sync

Sync has a Setup tab and an Exclusions tab.

On Setup, open Account Type and pick a service, then tap Set Up Sync. Once an account is set up, Enable Sync is the master switch: turning it off keeps the account and its settings but stops syncing. The same tab holds the account's own options, including Sync automatically (turn it off to sync manually by pulling down on the task list), Push Sync, and Next sync action, which applies to one run and then returns to normal.

On Exclusions, pick lists that should stay out of sync. Their tasks stay on this device.

For the services on offer, what each one carries, and the first-sync choices, see Sync and Sync with iCloud.

Mail to 2Do

Mail to 2Do gives you a private email address that turns messages into tasks.

Turn on Enable Mail to 2Do, then copy the address under Your Address. Under Delivery, Default destination list is used when an email doesn't name a list itself, and Fetch Now checks for new mail immediately. 2Do also checks in the background.

Learn more in Mail to 2Do.

Import Reminders

Import Reminders automatically moves unfinished reminders from one Apple Reminders list into the Imported from Reminders section of your Inbox. Each reminder is removed from its Reminders list after its task is saved in 2Do.

Turn on Import Automatically, choose a Reminders List, and tap Confirm. Review the removal notice, then tap Start Importing. The setup applies only to this device and is unavailable while Reminders is your configured account sync method.

See Import Reminders for setup, supported details, and when importing runs.

Sharing

Sharing brings together your iCloud shared lists and Wi-Fi sharing.

• New Shared List… creates a list for inviting other 2Do users through iCloud.
• Shared by Me shows your iCloud lists. Tap one for Manage Sharing…, Stop Sharing…, or Replace Contents…. An unavailable list offers Stop so you can keep or delete its local copy.
• Shared with Me shows received iCloud lists. Tap an active list to leave it, or remove a read-only copy after sharing has ended.

See Share Lists over iCloud for invitations, permissions, what is shared, and what stays personal. Replacing contents changes the shared work for everyone; it is not a way to download newer changes.

Wi-Fi Sharing

Under Wi-Fi, Browse Shared Lists finds lists on your local network. The screen also shows lists this device publishes. To publish a regular list, use its touch-and-hold menu in the lists panel. See Share Lists over Wi-Fi.

Security

Security has three tabs: Protection, Privacy, and Archived.

On Protection:

• Passcode protects 2Do and selected lists with a four-digit passcode. Tap Set to create one, then Change or Turn Off later.
• Require passcode decides how soon 2Do asks again: Immediately, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes.
• Lock everything requires the passcode to unlock the app.
• Allow Widget & Watch access when protected keeps widgets, the Watch app, and task complications available while Lock everything is on. With it off, these surfaces hide task content. Individually password-protected lists stay hidden on widgets and the Watch either way.
• Password-Protected Lists lists every list with a switch. Tasks from selected lists stay hidden until you unlock them.

On Privacy, List Visibility has one switch per list. Turn off a list to hide it from the side panel. Hidden lists and tasks still sync.

Archived shows your archived lists, including hidden ones. Tap Unarchive and confirm to restore a list. Its visibility and password-protection settings stay the same. If it is still hidden, turn it on under Privacy > List Visibility. See Archiving a List.

While a passcode is set, a bar at the bottom of the pane reads Unlock to change protected settings and list visibility, with an Unlock button. Once unlocked it offers Lock so you can end the session yourself.

Learn more in Password Protection.

Backups & Export

Backups & Export creates snapshots of your 2Do database, restores them, and exports lists.

Under Automatic Backups, Create backups offers None, Every 24 Hours, or Every 48 Hours, and Keep at most holds 5, 10, 20, or 30 of them.

The actions below are Create Backup Now, Restore from File…, Backup to Email, and Export Lists…. Every stored backup is listed underneath with its size and date, and a menu offering Restore…, Save a Copy…, and Delete.

Learn more in Backups.

Help

The help links sit right on the main Settings screen:

• Walkthrough Tutorial replays the introduction you saw at first launch.
• User Manual opens this documentation.
• Leave a Review opens 2Do on the App Store.

Diagnostics

Diagnostics is where you send logs to support, choose what 2Do reports on its own, and keep the database in shape. Logs record recent app activity and help 2Do support investigate problems.

Email Diagnostic Report and Share Diagnostic Report package recent logs. Both explain what the logs contain and ask you to confirm before anything leaves the device.

Under Privacy, two switches decide what this iPhone or iPad sends. Both are on by default:

• Automatic crash reporting sends a crash report automatically when 2Do crashes, which helps find and fix the cause. Turn it off to stop these automatic reports. You can still send logs yourself with Email Diagnostic Report or Share Diagnostic Report.
• Share my usage statistics shares usage statistics that help guide improvements to 2Do.

Under Database:

• Optimize Database tidies the local database and reports back when it is done.
• Reset Application Data… wipes everything stored in 2Do on this device and installs a fresh database.

warning

Reset Application Data… cannot be undone. Create a backup and save a copy off the device first. See Backups.

About

The main Settings screen closes with 2Do's app icon, version, and build.