Help & Documentation

Last updated: 24 May 2026

Sift is a calendar utility for iPhone and Apple Watch. It reads the calendars you already use (iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange), and surfaces only the events that match views you define. Every match comes with a live countdown, on screen, in widgets, and on your wrist.

Sift does not replace Apple Calendar. Your events stay where they are. Sift brings what matters into focus and shows how soon it’s happening.

Topic guide

Jump straight to what you need:

Getting started

• Installing Sift
• Granting calendar access
• Creating your first view

Views & rules

• Views: the saved configurations that drive everything
• Rules: calendars, keywords, date range
• Advanced rules: time, all-day, recurrence, location

Alerts

• Alerts: how long before each match Sift alerts you

Widgets

• Home Screen widgets: Next Event, Events list, Week Heatmap, Today
• Lock Screen accessories: Circular, Corner, Rectangular, Inline
• Configuring a widget

Apple Watch

• The watch app
• Complications
• Saved views missing from the picker

View sharing

• What’s included and excluded
• Importing a shared view

Sift Plus

• What you get
• Subscribing, restoring, and cancelling
• What happens when Plus ends

Data & privacy

• Settings overview
• iCloud Sync
• Export & Import
• Hidden events
• Where your data lives

Help

• Troubleshooting
• Contact

Terminology

These docs use the same terms as the app: view, keyword, rules, Sift Plus: not “filter” or “tag” as nouns.

Privacy

Sift processes your calendar on-device. There is no account, no server, and no in-app analytics. See the Privacy Policy and Your data for details.

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Still stuck? Email sift@madebysoandso.com: we read every message.