# Sync and Signing In on iPhone

> What works on your phone alone and what signing in adds.

Source: https://groupthink.com/docs/ios_sync_sign_in/
Last updated: 2026-09-29

Groupthink on iPhone works in two layers: what runs on your device, and what connects to your Groupthink account. You can live entirely in the first layer, add the second when you want it, and your on-device work keeps working either way.

## On the device (no sign-in)

Open the app and record, write, paste, and ingest links right away. It all runs on the phone. There's nothing to sign into to get started.

## iCloud sync (automatic)

If your iPhone is signed into iCloud, your captures and the people you keep on-device back up to your **private iCloud** and sync across your own Apple devices — iPhone to iPad, and so on. This uses your device's iCloud account directly; there's no separate Groupthink sign-in for it, and nothing is sent to Groupthink. Everything stays inside your private CloudKit database, which Groupthink can't read.

You can check the status under **Settings → Sync**. If no iCloud account is signed into the phone, the app still works offline — you just don't get cross-device backup.

## Signing in

Signing in connects the phone to your Groupthink account and brings your relationships across. It unlocks the two server-backed tabs:

- **Overview** — a synthesized read on your day and the people on your calendar. See [Your Daily Overview](/docs/ios_daily_overview).
- **People** — your full relationship list and history. See [People and "Who is this about?"](/docs/ios_people).

It also lets the captures you file to people sync to their timelines, and turns the **Recent Interactions** list on the Interactions tab into your whole account: meetings, notes from the web and desktop, and what you captured here. See [Your recent interactions](/docs/ios_getting_started#your-recent-interactions).

Once you're signed in, the app opens on **Overview** each time you launch it. Signed out, it opens on **Interactions**.

To sign in: open **Settings** (or tap **Overview** or **People**) and choose **Sign in with Apple** or **Sign in with Google**. If you already use Groupthink on the web or desktop, pick the same option you use there. Signing in with Microsoft isn't available on iPhone yet; see [Known issues](/docs/ios_known_issues). Sign out any time with **Sign out of Groupthink** under **Settings → Account**.

## Sign in with Apple

**Sign in with Apple** is a full sign-in option, just like Google. It connects the phone to your Groupthink account and unlocks the Overview and People tabs. You don't need it for iCloud sync, which works from your phone's iCloud account on its own.

Earlier versions of the app had a separate Apple sign-in that only covered iCloud. If you used it, **Settings → Sync** still shows your Apple ID, and a **Sign out of Apple** button sits at the bottom of Settings. That button signs you out of the older iCloud sign-in only, not out of your Groupthink account.

## Which layer am I in?

| You want to…                             | What you need                      |
| ---------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Record, write, paste, ingest links       | Nothing, it works on the device    |
| Back up and sync across your own devices | Be signed into iCloud on the phone |
| See your Overview and People tabs        | Sign in with Apple or Google       |
| File captures to people's timelines      | Sign in with Apple or Google       |
| See your whole account in Interactions   | Sign in with Apple or Google       |

_Related: [Privacy and on-device permissions](/docs/ios_privacy_permissions)._