Setting Up

Finalist asks for a fair amount of trust up front: calendars, reminders, notifications, location. Here's what each one actually does for you, so you can decide with open eyes. Everything is optional. Skip a permission and that feature simply won't appear, and you can always change your mind later in your device's Settings under Finalist.

No account, no sign-up

There's nothing to create and no password to remember. Your tasks, habits, lists, and journal live in your own iCloud and sync to your other Apple devices automatically. Finalist doesn't have a server with your data on it.

Calendars

With calendar access, your events appear right on your daily page alongside your tasks: work meetings, personal appointments, shared and subscribed calendars. You choose exactly which calendars show up in the Calendars configurator under the app menu, so the noisy ones can stay hidden.

Reminders

With reminders access, your Apple Reminders appear in Finalist and can be managed from either app. This is also what lets Finalist create reminders that alert on all your Apple devices (even ones without Finalist installed) and work with lists you share with family. More on when to use reminders vs. tasks in The Five Kinds of Things.

Notifications

Notifications let timed tasks alert you when they're due, and enable the optional evening planning prompt, a gentle nudge to set up tomorrow before the day ends.

Location & weather

Location powers the weather forecast on your daily page and timeline, so you can plan the run before the rain. It's also used for optional journal check-ins that remember where you were.

Photos

Only needed if you want to attach photos to journal entries or capture tasks from a photo of text: a whiteboard, a hand-written list, a screenshot.

One more optional thing

During setup I'll offer to send you occasional planning tips by email (my Insiders newsletter). It's genuinely optional and separate from everything above.

Related: Your First Day · Calendar & Reminders · Sync & Devices