A sticky note widget for Android: three ways to pin a note

To keep a sticky note on your Android Home Screen, add a note widget: touch and hold an empty spot on the Home Screen, tap Widgets, and pick a notes app's single note widget. Google Keep and Samsung Notes both have one, and so does TackNote for Android, which keeps to-dos in front and never shows a private note's words.

All three put one note where you see it every time you unlock your phone. They differ in what you can do on the widget itself, what happens when a list is too long to fit, and who else can read it. Here is how each one works, side by side, including where TackNote falls short.

Google Keep: the Single note widget

Keep's Single note widget pins one note or list to your Home Screen. You pick it from the Widgets menu, then choose the note it shows. You can tick items off a list and edit the note right on the widget, without opening Keep (Google Keep Help).

If your notes already live in Keep and you want to tick things off from the Home Screen, this is the one to try first. It is free and comes with your Google account.

Samsung Notes, on Galaxy phones

On a Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Notes has a widget called Single note that keeps one note on the Home Screen, and a Note list widget that shows several recent notes at once (SamMobile). It is already on your Galaxy, so it costs nothing to try.

TackNote for Android

TackNote's Note widget shows one note on your Home Screen, drawn on the note's own paper color. It is built to stay readable and never break:

• Tick from the Home Screen. Tap a checklist item's box to tick it without opening TackNote. The tick is saved to the note. Private notes cannot be ticked from the widget.
• To-dos first. When a checklist is longer than the widget, what is still to do comes first and ticked items drop below, with a "+N more" line. A ticked item is the least useful thing to keep in sight.
• Private stays private. A private note shows only its color on the widget. Its words never reach the Home Screen, even right after you unlock it in the app, because anyone holding your phone can see a widget.
• Follows your work, or stays put. Out of the box it shows the note you edited last. Pin it to one note instead, and it keeps that note in sight.
• Any size. Resize it from a small square to most of the screen, and it fits as many lines or items as the space allows.
• Easy on the eyes at night. In Dark mode the paper is dimmed a little, so a bright yellow note does not glare on a dark Home Screen.
• Never blank. If the pinned note is deleted, the widget says so, and a tap lets you choose another.

Two more TackNote widgets sit beside it. Quick add puts New note, To-do and Record one tap away, and Recent notes lists the notes you edited last, one row each, with private notes left out.

How to add the TackNote widget

1. Open TackNote once. The widget shows your notes after the app has been opened on the phone.
2. Touch and hold an empty spot on your Home Screen, then tap Widgets.
3. Find TackNote and its Note widget. Touch and hold it and drag it where you want it, or tap Add if your phone offers that.
4. Choose the note. To show a different note, touch and hold the widget and tap the pencil, or your phone's widget settings. Under Choose a note, tap the note to keep in sight, or choose to follow the note you edited last.

The words on these buttons vary from phone to phone. The TackNote for Android guide walks through it with pictures.

Google Keep and TackNote side by side

Where TackNote falls short

• You cannot type on the widget. You can tick items on it, but to change the words, a tap opens the note in TackNote. If editing from the Home Screen matters most, Keep does that.
• One note per Note widget. To keep several notes in sight, add one for each, or add the Recent notes widget for a list of the notes you edited last.
• It is not free forever. Everything works for 7 days, then $24.99 once. No subscription.
• It needs Android 13 or later. On an older phone, try Keep or Samsung Notes.

Which one fits you

• You live in Google Keep and want to tick things off from the Home Screen: use Keep's Single note widget.
• You have a Galaxy and your notes are in Samsung Notes: use its Single note widget.
• You keep long checklists and want what is left to do in front, or some notes are private: use TackNote's Note widget.

Common questions

Does Google Keep have a sticky note widget?

Yes. Keep's Single note widget pins one note or list to your Android Home Screen, and you can tick items and edit the note right from the widget.

Can you tick off a checklist on the TackNote widget?

Yes. Tap a checklist item's box on the Note widget to tick it without opening TackNote. Private notes cannot be ticked from the widget. When a list does not fit, what is still to do comes first.

Does a private note show on the TackNote widget?

Only its color. A private note never puts its words on the Home Screen, even right after you unlock it in the app.

Can you have more than one TackNote widget?

Yes. Each widget shows one note, so add a widget for each note you want in sight. Each one can be pinned to its own note or follow the note you edited last.

Which Android version does the TackNote widget need?

TackNote for Android needs Android 13 or later. The widget comes with the app, with nothing extra to install.