Can you pin a Google Tasks list on iPhone?

Short answer

Stock Google Tasks on iPhone has no Pin, Keep on top, or Favorite list control. You can rename lists and drag them into a new order. You cannot lock one list as permanently pinned the way some note or chat apps do.

That gap is why the search shows up so often. People treat “pin” as “always one tap away.” Google’s Tasks product is a lightweight checklist next to Gmail and Calendar. Sticky list pins are not part of that surface.

What people mean by pin

“Pin a list” usually covers three different jobs. Mixing them up leads to the wrong workaround.

1. Always open this list first. You want Work or Errands waiting when you launch the app.
2. Keep this list visible while you hop around. You want a shortcut that survives switching lists.
3. Mark important tasks, not the whole list. You want stars or a favorites lane for a few must-see items.

Only the first job has a partial answer in stock Tasks: put the list near the top by hand. The second job is really a Home Screen or widget problem. The third job is task-level, not list-level. For starring tasks, see our note on how to star or favorite a task. For where new tasks land, see default list.

What stock Google Tasks offers instead

Without a pin, the practical tools are order and habit:

1. Open the list switcher and drag your daily list near the top. List order syncs with your Google account, so the same ranking shows in Gmail and Calendar Tasks panels.
2. Keep list names short and distinct so scanning the switcher is fast even without a pin badge.
3. Prefer one “active” list for today’s capture instead of pinning several lists you rarely open.
4. Remember that your primary list (often My Tasks) may already sit in a special spot. Reordering helps for the lists you create; it does not invent a Settings toggle labeled Pin.

Those steps reduce friction. They still leave every list looking equal, with no sticky badge, and they do not put a specific checklist on your Home Screen.

What a pin will not fix

If the real pain is “I cannot see Work and Home at once,” pinning one list will not help. That is an all-lists view gap. If the pain is “I keep adding to the wrong list,” fix capture habits and which list is open, not a pin icon. If the pain is “I cannot tell lists apart,” that is naming or list colors, not pinning.

Use a pin (when you have one) after the list system is already simple. A pinned messy list is still messy.

When a Home Screen pin helps

On iPhone, the closest thing to pinning a list is putting that list on the Home Screen. Stock Google Tasks offers only a basic widget experience, so many people never get a reliable “this exact list, always visible” tile.

ETasks is a native Google Tasks app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch with two-way sync (or local use with no Google account). Its list widgets let you pin any task list to the Home Screen and check items at a glance. That is a true pin for job two above: the list stays visible without opening the app and hunting the switcher.

ETasks also adds an all-lists view and ordered favorites for tasks when the problem is overview or must-see items rather than a single sticky list. It does not invent a Google-side Pin field that appears in Google’s own Tasks app on the web or Android. Your checklist still syncs with Google Tasks; the Home Screen pin lives in the iPhone shell where you glance all day.

A calm habit either way

Whether you stay in stock Tasks or pin a widget:

• Cap how many lists you try to keep “on top.” One or two daily lists is enough.
• Reorder after a weekly review, not every time you open the app.
• Put capture in one clear list; put review in the others.
• If a list only matters in a place or at a time, a widget or a due date beats a fake pin in the title.

Quick answers

Can you pin a Google Tasks list on iPhone? No. Stock Google Tasks has no Pin list button.

Does reordering lists count as pinning? Partially. Dragging a list near the top keeps it handy in the switcher, but it is not a sticky pin badge.

Can I pin a Google Tasks list to the Home Screen? Not reliably with Google’s basic widget. A native client with list widgets, such as ETasks, can pin a specific list to the Home Screen.

Is pinning a list the same as starring a task? No. Stars and favorites mark tasks. Pinning (or reordering) is about which list stays easy to open.