SwiftList Manual · 14 of 19
iCloud sync and privacy
On this page
SwiftList has no account and no WithyWork server. Your lists live on your devices and, if you choose, in your own private iCloud.
Turning on iCloud Sync #
iCloud Sync is part of Premium. Open Settings, Sync, iCloud Sync: “Keeps your lists, photos and memos the same on iPhone, iPad and Mac.” On Free it reads “Premium. Without it, everything stays on this device.”
You need to be signed in to iCloud on each device with the same Apple Account. Settings shows the status, Sync Now, and when it last synced.
Where your data goes #
Sync uses your private iCloud database. Only your own devices, signed in to the same Apple Account, can see it. Titles, notes and other text are stored with iCloud’s encrypted fields. Photos, scans and memos sync as files.
WithyWork can’t see your lists. There is no copy anywhere else.
When two devices edit at once #
“Edits made on two devices at once are merged. Nothing you typed is thrown away.” In practice:
- Changes are merged field by field. The newest change to each field wins.
- If a title was changed on both, the other title is kept in the notes as “Also titled: …”.
- Note edits made on both devices are both kept.
- If an item was deleted on one device and edited later on another, the edit brings it back.
- Order is merged per item, so after two devices reorder the same list at once, the order can come out a little different.
If Premium ends or you sign out #
- If Premium lapses, sync stops. Nothing is deleted on the device or in iCloud.
- Signing out of iCloud stops sync and keeps your lists on the device.
- Signing in again, or to another account, uploads this device’s lists.
Deleted items and long-offline devices #
Deletes are remembered for 180 days. A device that has been offline longer than that can bring deleted items back when it reconnects.
Privacy #
From the About section in SwiftList’s Settings:
Your lists, photos and voice memos are stored on this device and, with iCloud Sync on, in your private iCloud database. Text in photos and memos is recognised on this device. SwiftList has no account and no analytics; purchases go through the App Store. Items go to Apple Reminders only when you choose Add to Reminders.
- No account, no ads, and no analytics or crash-reporting tools inside the app.
- Text recognition in photos and scans, and voice memo transcription, run on the device.
- The App Store privacy label says no data collected.
- Purchases are handled by Apple.
- The Mac MCP server runs only on your Mac. An AI app you connect may send what it reads to its own service. See MCP privacy.
Read the full privacy policy.
Permissions SwiftList may ask for #
Only when you use the feature: camera (photos and scans), photo library, microphone (voice memos), speech recognition (transcripts), Reminders (Add to Reminders) and notifications (alerts and the overdue badge).