I'm Done With Clear Lists

The first time I heard about Clear Lists I was watching an Apple Developer video, specifically the one about App Icon Design. This looked like an interesting app, I loved the gradient design, as well as the clean interface the app had. However, the app cost money at the time, so I didn't download it.

However, in early 2024^[1] Clear launched Clear 2.0, a completely redesigned version of the app. And part of this redesign was making the app free, instead using a theme shop as a way to generate revenue. Because of this, I gave the app a try, and I fell in love.

Previously, I was using Todoist, and that worked well. But sometimes I thought it was a little too complex and I spent too long setting it up. Clear was nice because it didn't have features, the most exciting thing was reminders. Plus, Clear had a beautiful, customizable interface with achievements.

With everything said, it wasn't perfect. For instance, it was only on mobile, so I couldn't access anything on desktop. Additionally, I didn't like how completed tasks would end up deleted, as I enjoy keeping archives. But still, having a super basic app was so nice.

Eventually, I went back to Todoist for most things. Short term lists, such as shopping lists, I continued to use Clear for short term lists, such as shopping lists. Clear continued to get nice updates, but having no web app was just too big of a deal for me. However, the biggest change was announced, and that's what finally made me quit.

Clear Pro was announced via the Clear forum (the fact a basic to-do app has a forum is really funny to me), and I can completely see the reasons why they decided to add a pro tier. One of the reasons why was that the item shop didn't work that well. Most people aren't going to be spending a ton on cosmetic themes, no matter how much they want them. And even if they do, they won't make many purchases once they find a theme they like.

My problem with Clear Pro wasn't that it exists, but how they went about it. As a "legacy user" I get all the features that I already had for free, but new users don't get these perks, so I cannot recommend the app to people anymore. Some of these features include basic things like archiving, widgets, and even rewards. But on top of all this, it was a monthly subscription.

I understand making a subscription for services such as syncing, but for features on a productivity app that runs on your phone, I feel it should remain a one-time purchase. I'm much more likely to make a purchase if I know I won't have to continue paying for it the rest of my life.

If you like Clear, you can continue to use it. But I'm done. You can continue developing an app for Twitter Memoji profile pictures, but I'm going to stick with Todoist.