Mail to 2Do
Mail to 2Do gives your device a private, receive-only email address. Anything sent to that address becomes a normal task in the 2Do list you choose, with no extra apps, no account to create, and nothing to install anywhere else.
Each device gets its own private address, which looks like this:
todo-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@2doapp.email
Setting It Up
- Open Settings > Mail to 2Do.
- Turn on Enable Mail to 2Do. 2Do creates your private address and shows it under Your Address.
- Tap the copy button beside the address and save it as a contact with a name you will remember, such as "2Do Inbox".
- Under Delivery, choose the Default destination list, which is used when an email doesn't name a list itself.
- Send something to the address and watch it arrive.
Under Delivery you also get Fetch mail with a Fetch Now button. 2Do checks for new mail automatically in the background, and you can use the button whenever you want to check immediately.
The expandable How Mail to 2Do works card in the same pane repeats the essentials and links back here.
Save the address as a contact called "2Do Inbox". Sending a task then takes as long as typing a subject line.
Everyday Uses
- Brain-dump. Email yourself a one-line reminder from work, from a computer, from anywhere. It is waiting in 2Do when you get back to your device.
- Forward things that need action. A flight confirmation, an invoice to pay, a message you must reply to: forward it and the subject becomes the task, with the message text saved in the notes.
- Send yourself a checklist. Number the lines of the message and it arrives as a checklist.
- Let others file work for you. Anything that can send email can create tasks: a mail rule that forwards matching messages, an automation service, a report from a server, or a chore from a colleague.
A quick example:
To: todo-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@2doapp.email
Subject: Pick up the dry cleaning due(tomorrow) list(Errands)
That arrives as a task titled "Pick up the dry cleaning" in your Errands list, due tomorrow.
Sharing Your Address With People You Trust
Your address works like a private phone number: anyone who has it can add tasks to your list, and only you decide who gets it. Share it with your partner so the groceries land on your list instead of in a chat thread, or hand it to a colleague who files errands your way.
Two things to know when sharing:
- Mail to 2Do is receive-only. Senders never get replies, confirmations, or bounces; messages simply appear in your 2Do.
- If the address ever spreads further than you would like, use Replace Address in Settings. The old address stops working instantly and permanently, and you get a fresh one to share.
From Email to Task
Every message is converted the same way:
- The subject becomes the task's title.
- The plain-text body becomes the task's notes, up to 10,000 characters.
- Attachments and HTML formatting are not captured. An HTML-only message may create a task with just its subject as the title.
- There is no link back to the original email. Your address is a one-way delivery into 2Do rather than a mailbox, so a task receives only the subject and text of a message and never a reference to it. That is deliberate, and it is part of what keeps the message private.
Checklists
Number the lines of your message body, typing 1. 2. 3. yourself with one item per line, and 2Do creates a checklist instead of a plain task, with each numbered line as an item. Start the body with 1.; text before the first numbered line keeps the message a normal task. When the body mixes numbered lines with other text, the full message text is kept in the checklist's notes. A signature such as "Sent from my iPhone" ends the checklist rather than becoming an item, and stays in the notes with the rest of the message.
Subject: Saturday shopping list(Home)
1. Milk
2. Coffee beans
3. Bird seed
Filing Instructions
The subject can carry small filing instructions in parentheses. 2Do removes them from the task title and applies them as it saves:
| Instruction | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
start(...) | Sets a start date | start(today) |
due(...) | Sets a due date, with a time when you include one | due(tomorrow) |
priority(!) (!!) (!!!) | Sets low, medium, or high priority | priority(!!!) |
list(...) | Files the task in an existing list | list(Work) |
tag(...) | Adds one or more tags | tag(home, diy) |
action(type, value) | Adds an Action | action(call, 0793273373) |
Supported action types are call, message, url, visit, and google. Dates accept natural words such as today and tomorrow, or a typed date and time. If a named list does not exist, the task lands in your default destination list.
Add list(...) to the subject when a message belongs somewhere other than your default destination list. Everything else about the message stays the same.
Private by Design
Your mail never sits in a mailbox. Each message is encrypted for this device the moment it arrives, and it is deleted permanently the instant your task is saved, or after 30 days, whichever comes first.
The raw email is deleted right after it is converted. Once the encrypted payload is stored, nobody at 2Do can read it, and no readable message content is kept. Mail to 2Do does not create a mailbox or a separate email account that you or anyone else can browse.
Delivery
Delivery is normally quick when your device is online. If the device is offline, the encrypted task waits for up to 30 days and arrives once the device is available again.
2Do checks for new mail in the background on its own. In a hurry? Fetch Now under Settings > Mail to 2Do > Delivery checks immediately.
Tasks created from email sync onward to your other devices through your normal sync, like any other task.
Limits
Mail to 2Do takes no attachments and plain text only, with notes up to 10,000 characters and 50 emails per day.
Mail that exceeds a limit or is flagged as spam is discarded silently. No bounce is sent.
Your Address and Your Devices
An address belongs to one device and to the 2Do database on it. Your license allows a set number of addresses. The Manage Addresses screen shows how many address slots are in use, with each address partially masked for privacy.
If every slot is in use when you turn the feature on, 2Do opens the same screen titled Free an Address Slot and explains that the license is using all available Mail to 2Do addresses. Release an unused address and setup retries automatically. Releasing an address is permanent: it will never work again, its pending mail is deleted, and Mail to 2Do is disabled on the device using it.
The screen also suggests the gentler option: if you still have the database or a backup that owns an address you recognize, restore it and choose Move Address to This Device, which keeps the address without using another slot.
Troubleshooting
Mail is not arriving
Check that:
- The receiving device is switched on and online.
- Enable Mail to 2Do is on in Settings > Mail to 2Do.
- You sent the message to the exact address shown under Your Address.
Then tap Fetch Now. Messages wait up to 30 days while the device is unavailable, after which they are permanently deleted. Because the service sends no bounces, the sending mail app never receives a delivery failure.
The database belongs to another device
After restoring or copying a 2Do database, the pane can show Choose How to Use This Database with two options:
- Move Address to This Device keeps the existing address and delivers it here. The other device is disabled and its undelivered mail is deleted.
- Use a New Address gives this database copy a new address and leaves the other device and its address unchanged.
Choose Move Address to This Device when this device replaces the old one. Choose Use a New Address when both copies stay in use.
Replace Address or turn the feature off
- Replace Address, under Manage, immediately stops the current address and creates a new one: "The old address will stop working immediately. Any pending mail for it will be deleted." Update your saved contact with the new address.
- Turning Mail to 2Do off deletes the address permanently along with its pending mail. Turning the feature on again later creates a completely new address.
Old addresses are never reused.