How to turn on the calendar backstop
Keep alerts coming during long stretches you don't open the app — privately, on device.
iOS only lets an app keep a limited number of pending alerts queued at once, and it schedules them when the app runs in the background. If you don't open Everyday Cue for a long while, some far-future alerts can fall out of that queue. The calendar backstop closes that gap.
What it is
The backstop mirrors your reminders into a dedicated, private calendar on your device — think of it as "Everyday Cue" among your other calendars. The system Calendar then fires those events' alarms during long quiet stretches, even when Everyday Cue itself hasn't run.
It works alongside normal notifications, which stay your primary, near-term alerts. The calendar simply backstops the far-future ones.
Why you might want it
- You don't open the app for days or weeks at a time.
- You rely on reminders that are far out — annual renewals, the last Friday of every quarter.
- You want belt-and-suspenders coverage so nothing slips during dormancy.
Turn it on
The backstop is opt-in — Everyday Cue never enables it or prompts for calendar access at launch. When you choose to turn it on, iOS asks for permission to manage its own dedicated calendar.
- Open Settings in the app and find the Calendar backstop option.
- Turn it on and grant calendar access when prompted.
Everyday Cue creates and maintains the dedicated calendar for you. You can turn the backstop off any time.
It stays on your device
The mirrored calendar is local — it lives on your device, not in a shared or public calendar. Everyday Cue keeps it in sync with your reminders automatically and never sends its contents to us or any third party. It's the same privacy promise as the rest of the app.
Tip: the backstop complements notifications; it doesn't replace them. Keep notification permission on for prompt, near-term alerts, and let the calendar cover the long tail.
Frequently asked questions
What events appear in the "Everyday Cue" calendar?
Each active reminder with a future scheduled alert gets a mirrored calendar event. The event title matches your reminder name. Events are updated automatically when you change a schedule, pause a reminder, or archive it. Completed and archived reminders are removed from the calendar. The calendar is read-only from iOS Calendar's perspective — editing events there has no effect on Everyday Cue's data.
Can I turn the backstop off?
Yes, at any time. Go to Settings › Calendar Backstop and disable it. Everyday Cue removes the dedicated calendar and all its events immediately. Your reminders and their notification schedules are unaffected — the backstop is independent of the main notification system. You can re-enable it later and the calendar will be rebuilt from your current reminders.
Does it interfere with my existing calendars?
No. Everyday Cue creates its own dedicated calendar named "Everyday Cue." It never reads, writes to, or modifies any calendar you created. The iOS Calendar permission Everyday Cue requests is scoped to its own calendar only. Your personal, work, and shared calendars are untouched.
Is the backstop calendar private?
Yes. The "Everyday Cue" calendar is local to your device. It does not sync to iCloud Calendar, is not shared with any other app, and is never sent to Everyday Cue servers (there are no Everyday Cue servers). If you have iCloud Calendar sync enabled in iOS Settings, iOS may sync the calendar to your other Apple devices — that is an iOS behavior, not an Everyday Cue one. If you want to keep the backstop strictly on-device, disable iCloud Calendar sync for the "Everyday Cue" calendar in iOS Settings › Calendar › Accounts.