Catchlight vs Microsoft To Do.

Microsoft To Do keeps your tasks in the same mailbox as your email, readable by Microsoft, and a note can only exist inside a task. Catchlight seals notes, tasks and reminders into one Take, on your device, with no account.

To Do is Microsoft’s simple, free task app, and simple is meant kindly, it’s clean and it works. The catches sit underneath. Your to-dos are stored in your Exchange mailbox, notes can’t exist on their own, and the whole thing lives inside an account built for a work suite.

At a glance. The short version.

Microsoft To Do handling verified July 2026. To-dos are stored in your Exchange Online mailbox, encrypted but readable by Microsoft, and the work version is being folded into Microsoft Planner. Catchlight is pre-launch, its feature set is subject to change.

In your mailbox. Where your to-dos actually live.

Here’s the detail most people don’t realise. Microsoft To Do stores your tasks in your Exchange Online mailbox. That’s the same place as your email. They’re encrypted in transit and at rest, but Microsoft manages the keys, plus there’s no option for you to hold them yourself. Free and fine, for a shopping list, but your plans sit where your email sits, readable by the company that runs both.

Catchlight keeps your Takes on your device, sealed with a 12-word Privacy Phrase only you hold. There’s no mailbox, no account and no server of ours involved.

Half a thought. Notes only live inside tasks.

To Do has the mirror image of Apple’s problem. Where Apple splits the note and the reminder across two apps, To Do only has tasks, so a note can’t exist unless it’s attached to one. Every thought has to arrive dressed as a to-do.

A Take doesn’t ask that. Write, and it’s a note. Add a checkbox and a time, and the same Take is a task that reminds you. Nothing needs a parent, and nothing needs a category before you’ve finished thinking it.

It’s worth knowing the ground is moving too. Microsoft has folded the work version of To Do into Planner, and the web app is being absorbed into Outlook. The consumer app still stands today, but tools inside big suites get reorganised, and your notes shouldn’t have to move house when they do.

Being fair. Where Microsoft To Do is the better choice.

To Do is the better choice if you live in Outlook, want flagged emails to become tasks, share lists with family or colleagues, and free matters more than private. Within the Microsoft world it’s the natural, tidy pick.

Where Catchlight is the better choice.

Catchlight is the better choice if your lists are really thoughts, half note and half plan, and you’d rather they lived somewhere no company can read, in one item, on your phone, with the reminder built in.

Quick answers. Common questions.

Is Microsoft To Do end-to-end encrypted?

No. Tasks are stored in your Exchange Online mailbox. Encrypted in transit, and at rest, but Microsoft holds the keys and there’s no way for you to own them instead. Catchlight is zero-knowledge, only you have the key.

Can Microsoft To Do hold notes?

Only inside a task, there are no standalone notes. In Catchlight the note and the task are the same item, and either can exist without the other.

Do both apps need an account?

To Do needs a Microsoft account. Catchlight needs none, a 12-word Privacy Phrase on first launch is your key.

All comparisons → · See what Catchlight is → · Questions, answered →