How Plus handles your Things data
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Cultured Code warns against giving Things Cloud credentials to third parties. Plus needs them once to connect. Here is what that means for you.
“Any AI tool that asks for your Things Cloud credentials is not safe. Never share your credentials with a third party.”
That warning applies to Plus. We are independent of Cultured Code, and you enter your Things Cloud password on our page. You have to trust us with it during sign-in. We believe the safeguards below make Plus a reasonable choice if you want to use Things from an AI app, even when your Mac is off. They reduce risk; they cannot remove it or make Plus an official Things integration.
- Plus uses your password once to connect, then discards it. It keeps an encrypted access key that can read and change your Things tasks.
- Plus stores an encrypted working copy of your tasks. Your AI app receives the task content it asks Plus to read.
- Plus checks changes before sending them to Things. Most changes can be undone, but permanent deletions cannot.
- You can turn on read-only mode, disconnect Plus, or change your Things Cloud password to revoke access.
What happens to your password
- You enter your Things Cloud email and password on the Plus sign-in page over an encrypted connection.
- In that same request, our server sends the password to Things Cloud to get your account's access key, called the history key. We then discard the password. We do not put it in our database, logs or backups.
- We encrypt the access key for your account and keep it while you are connected. It lets Plus read and change your Things tasks. Plus must be able to use that key when your AI app asks it to work with Things.
Our server handles your password briefly during sign-in. If you do not want a third party to handle it at all, use a method Cultured Code recommends instead.
Revoke access at any time
Change your Things Cloud password to stop the access key Plus holds from working. In Things for Mac, go to Things → Settings → Things Cloud → Edit Account. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings → Things Cloud → Edit Account. Your connected apps will ask you to sign in again. Cultured Code explains what happens to your devices in Changing Your Password.
You can also disconnect Plus on your account page. That removes the access key without changing your Things password.
How Plus changes tasks
Plus does not write to the database on your Mac. It sends changes through Things Cloud in the format Things uses. This is not one of the connection methods Cultured Code recommends, which is why we add checks before every write:
- Check: Validate the request against your current tasks, dates and lists.
- Try: Apply it to a copy first, without sending it to Things.
- Record: Save the before and after values in an encrypted change journal.
- Send once: If your Things data changed meanwhile, stop and check again. If a reply is unclear, read what happened instead of sending the same change twice.
What Plus will not write
- Repeat rules, changes to repeating to-dos, reminders or Things settings.
- A full rewrite when only a few fields need changing.
- A permanent deletion without your explicit confirmation.
What you can undo
Each change gets a receipt. For 30 days, you can ask your AI app to undo a change if it is still safe to reverse. New tasks go to the Trash; edited fields get their earlier values back. If you changed those fields yourself in the meantime, Plus will not overwrite your work.
Permanent deletion is different. Areas, tags and checklist items have no Trash. Deleting one requires your confirmation and cannot be undone, even though the deletion has a receipt. Back up your data before making large changes.
Read-only mode and emergency stops
Ask your AI app to turn on read-only mode when you only want answers. Only you can turn changes back on from your account page. We can also pause changes for one account or everyone if we find a problem; reading can continue.
What Plus stores
Plus keeps an encrypted copy of your Things history and the current tasks built from it. That copy makes answers fast, lets us check changes and undo eligible ones, and reduces requests to Things Cloud.
Your task data and access key are encrypted with a key for your account. A separate master key protects that key and is kept outside the database and its backups. Our servers run in the Netherlands, and encrypted backups are kept for up to 35 days. We do not use your tasks to train AI models. The privacy policy has the full details.
What your AI app sees
When your assistant reads a task, its AI provider receives that content. The provider's own terms and privacy settings then apply. Connect only apps you trust, and review their privacy policies too.
How Plus uses Things Cloud
Plus answers from its working copy and checks for changes while you use it. It limits requests across accounts and slows down when Things Cloud asks it to. It does not constantly poll your account.
Backups and ways to check Plus
Keep a Things backup
Things for Mac keeps daily backups for ten days. Before connecting an AI app or making large changes, make sure you have a recent one. Cultured Code explains how to back up and restore your to-dos.
If Things Cloud changes
When Things Cloud sends data Plus does not yet understand, Plus stops making changes for that account rather than guessing. You can still read the data already loaded while we investigate. Disconnecting never changes your tasks in Things.
Read the source code
The Plus code is public. You can inspect the parts that matter most:
- Sign-in: how the password is used.
- Things Cloud connection: requests to Things.
- Checked changes and undo: validation, receipts and the change journal.
- Encryption: how account keys are protected.
The Business Source License 1.1 lets you read, change and run Plus for yourself, with limits on offering it to others. Each version becomes Apache 2.0 four years after release.
Check service status
The status page shows known problems with Plus or its connection to Things Cloud. We also email you if a Things Cloud change affects your account.
Disconnect or delete your account
On your account page, you can:
- Disconnect: remove Plus's access key, working copy, history and change journal. Your plan stays, so you can connect again.
- Delete everything: remove that data and your account, and cancel any subscription. Encrypted backups expire within 35 days.
Neither action deletes your tasks in Things.
Other ways to connect Things
Cultured Code recommends the Things URL scheme, Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript on Mac and Mail to Things. They do not require giving Plus your Things Cloud password. Read Cultured Code's guidance to choose the approach that suits you.
Questions or security concerns
Email support@things3.plus. We give security reports priority.