December 31, 2024, 8:57am 1

Suggestion

I propose adding a new section dedicated to recommending to-do list managers and task management tools. While some of the currently recommended notebook applications—such as Standard Notes, Joplin, and Notesnook—offer basic to-do list functionalities (with Notesnook even providing reminders), they do not deliver the full range of capabilities provided by dedicated task management tools. The same can be said for tools like Obsidian and Anytype, which are currently not recommended. Additionally, there is Org Mode which is not suitable for everyone due to its UI and Linux exclusivity.

Criteria

The criteria for task managers could be based on those used for notebook applications but with some adjustments. Specifically, we might need to remove the strict requirement for tools to be open-source due to the scarcity of such options in this category. Instead, we could require that these tools be either open-source or have undergone a third-party security audit to ensure user privacy.

Software

Some cross-platform solutions I am aware of include Legend, Lunatask, Illumtori, and Everdo. These applications are E2EE but proprietary—though Legend is partially open-source.

For users within the Apple ecosystem, OmniFocus (which is E2EE and audited) and Apple’s Reminders (which becomes E2EE when used with ADP) are notable options.

On Android, there’s Tasks.org, an open-source application that is not E2EE unless used in conjunction with EteSync.

On Linux there is Todo.txt and tools based on it such as Sleek.

For those interested in self-hosted solutions, Vikunja and OpenProject are open-source alternatives, though they lack E2EE.

Outside of privacy-focused tools, there are popular mainstream options such as Any.do, Google Tasks, Microsoft To Do, Things, TickTick, and Todoist. However, these are not considered privacy-friendly for various reasons.

Discussion

The intention of this proposal is not to endorse specific tools but to initiate a discussion on whether we should add a category for task management tool recommendations. If we decide to proceed, we need to determine what criteria should be established based on the options currently available. I have certainly not listed all available tools, rather just a selection of tools I know.

6 Likes

patron December 31, 2024, 9:19am 2

For the sake of completeness: The majority of the tools I’ve listed I haven’t used personally and therefore have no personal experience with them. I also haven’t checked each tool individually to see how the E2EE is implemented and what the privacy policy is. Basically, we should also distinguish between cloud-based, local, and self-hostable tools (similar to the notebook recommendations).

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seize December 31, 2024, 9:33am 3

This sort of feels off topic already, but i just want to provide some context around Org-mode. Orgmode isn’t really “Linux Only”. Rather Org-mode is exclusive to Emacs which is available for Linux, MacOS, Windows, and even Android if you enjoy suffering. With that said; Org itself is just a special markdown syntax which can be editted in any plain text editor.

Personally i don’t consider Org-mode to be a task todo program even if that is a function it provides. This is mostly to do with how I organize my notes in Org-mode though and others may consider it a task/todo tool.

I do think it could be good to have a task/todo section on Privacy guides; though i am not sure where the dividing line would have to be between notes/knowledge base recommendations vs task/todo recommendations.

4 Likes

donutfreak (DF) December 31, 2024, 7:45pm 4

With tasks.org, you can sync to other targets. Like a Nextcloud instance one controls/owns. And anything that can get through DAVx5 or CalDAV.

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I’d love to have something that works both in the browser and offline on desktop and mobile (own app or CalDAV interface), all while having E2EE.

I think Etesync is the best option for that but people say it’s unreliable.

All I want is a cross-platform E2EE tasks app. Cross-platform meaning: browser, offline Android app, offline Linux app.

Unfortunately, for me, they all have some issues:

• Lunatask, Everydo: no web app
• Illumtori: no desktop app

Legend was the most interesting but it seems a bit overkill and unfortunately there is no way to import my existing CalDAV tasks.

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I think you could take a look at Super Productivity, if you haven’t already. It’s FOSS, cross platform, has a web app, and can sync with local files and you can select encryption for them. Meaning you put this in any file sync service and it should sync across the platforms.