How to Put a To-Do List on Your iPhone Lock Screen (October 2026)

TL;DR:

• Lock Screen widgets need iOS 16 or later. You get one row under the clock: up to four small widgets or two rectangular ones.
• Apple Reminders is already on your phone and can show the next reminder above the time. Good for viewing, weak for adding.
• Todoist has six Lock Screen widgets, including Next Task and Add Task. Things has three. Both open the app when you want to type a new task.
• Codot (my app) added Lock Screen to-dos this week: see today's list, tick items off, or tap the mic and say a new task without opening the app.
• If a to-do app is missing from the widget list, open it once, and check whether you've locked it behind Face ID.

I make Codot, so read the Codot section with that in mind. The rest of this guide works with whatever app you already use.

You walk out of a meeting with three things to do, your phone is already in your hand, and the list lives two swipes and one app launch away. By the time the app opens, one of the three is gone. A widget puts the list, or at least the "add" button, on the screen you already look at between everything else.

How do you put a to-do list on your iPhone Lock Screen?

Apple's steps (Apple Support):

1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears, then tap it.
2. Tap Add Widgets.
3. Tap or drag the to-do widget you want.
4. Swipe down to close the widget list, then tap Done.

If you've never customized a Lock Screen, iOS asks you to pick a wallpaper first.

Space is the real constraint. The row below the clock holds up to four small square widgets or two rectangular ones, or two small plus one rectangular. Above the clock there's one more line of text, and "the next reminder" from Apple Reminders is one of the options there (MacRumors). A rectangular widget shows two or three task titles. A small one shows a count, a progress ring or a single button.

Why isn't my to-do app in the widget list?

Two causes cover most cases. First, iOS only lists an app's widgets after you've opened the app at least once since installing or updating it. Second, if you've put the app behind Face ID, iOS hides it from the widget picker. Cultured Code documents both for Things (Things support), and they apply to other apps too. Restarting the phone fixes the rest more often than you'd expect.

What should a lock screen to-do widget actually do?

Every widget does some mix of three jobs:

• Show what's next, so you don't have to open anything to check
• Tick off a task you just finished
• Capture a new task before you forget it

Most widgets are good at showing. Fewer let you tick things off on the Lock Screen itself. Capture is the weakest: the "add" buttons usually launch the app and drop you into a text field, which is fine at a desk and useless when you're carrying groceries.

So before picking an app, work out which of those is your problem. If you keep forgetting what's already on your list, a rectangular "today" widget fixes it. If things never make it onto the list at all, the bottleneck is capture, and a prettier list won't help. I wrote more about that second case in why typing reminders interrupts the thing you're trying to remember.

Which to-do apps have the best Lock Screen widgets? (as of October 2026)

"Not documented" means I couldn't find it in the app's own help pages, which isn't the same as "can't". Check before you rely on it.

Apple Reminders

If you want zero setup, start here. Reminders already has Lock Screen widgets, and its "next reminder" line can sit above the clock, which is the one spot no third-party app can use. The downside is adding things. You either say "Hey Siri, remind me to…" or unlock and type. Siri handles a single reminder well and gets shaky with several in one breath or with a specific list, which I covered in where Siri still falls short.

Todoist

Todoist has the widest selection: Tasks (any list you pick), Today's Progress, Next Task, Add Task, Task Goal and Productivity, all on iOS 16 or later (Todoist help, updated October 22, 2026). Next Task as a small widget plus Add Task next to it is a tidy pair. Todoist's help page mentions completing tasks from the medium and large widgets on the Home Screen, but says nothing about doing it from the Lock Screen. If you already run your life in Todoist, this is the setup to use, and switching apps for a widget makes no sense.

Things 3

Things keeps it to three: List (a view you choose), Progress (a ring that fills as you finish to-dos) and New To-Do, which drops a new item in your Inbox (Things support). The + button can't be pre-set to a project or date, so everything lands in the Inbox for sorting later. Things also says Apple Calendar events won't show in its widgets. For people who like a calm, minimal Lock Screen, the Progress ring is the nicest-looking option here.

TickTick

A 2022 roundup listed seven TickTick Lock Screen widgets, including Today Tasks, Focus Distribution and Today Habit (iThinkDiff), and TickTick can pin a single task to the Lock Screen as a Live Activity. I couldn't find a current official help page listing them, so open the widget picker on your own phone and see what's there. Habit tracking next to tasks is TickTick's distinct angle. If you're weighing it against other apps, my TickTick comparison goes deeper.

Codot: a Lock Screen widget you talk to

Codot 1.5.4 shipped to the App Store this week (around October 20, 2026). Its release notes describe two changes (App Store listing):

• To-dos on the Lock Screen: see today's to-dos, tick them off, or tap the mic.
• Talk to Codot from anywhere: start from the Lock Screen, the Action Button, Control Center or Siri. You tap the mic, speak, and the reply arrives as a notification, so the app never opens.

Say you're in a taxi after a client lunch and you remember: send the revised quote by Thursday, ask the designer for the logo files, and the Friday call needs to move to 3. You tap the mic on the Lock Screen and say all of it in one go. Codot splits it into two tasks and a calendar change, and if you use Google Calendar the Friday call moves there too. A notification confirms it. Nothing gets typed.

That's the capture job, which is the one most widgets leave to a text field. The same voice input works on the Apple Watch and the web, and a daily briefing can read you the list in the morning, so the Lock Screen is one of several ways in.

What Codot doesn't do well, honestly:

• It's new. The Lock Screen widget is days old. Todoist's and Things' widgets have had years of fixes.
• It's built around today. If you want a widget pinned to one project list, Todoist gives you more control.
• iPhone only for now. It needs iOS 17 or later, and Android is waitlist-only.
• It isn't a project manager. No Gantt charts or task dependencies.

Codot is free during the launch period. After that, the free plan keeps 3 daily briefings and 2 scheduled automations, and Codot Max is $12.99 a month or $119.99 a year for unlimited use (pricing).

Which lock screen setup would I pick?

If your list is already in Todoist or Things and works for you, stay put. Put Next Task (or Things' Progress ring) in one slot and the Add button next to it. You'll get most of the benefit in five minutes.

If you're using Apple Reminders and it mostly works, use the "next reminder" line above the clock. It's the most glanceable spot on the phone and it's free.

If the honest answer is that tasks don't make it onto any list because you're never at a keyboard when they come up, that's where I'd pick Codot: one rectangular widget for today's list, with the mic right there. That's the case I built it for. If you're curious how a voice-first setup compares with Todoist more broadly, I wrote about moving off Todoist.

What about privacy?

Anything on your Lock Screen can be read by whoever picks up the phone. A rectangular widget shows task titles in full. If your tasks include client names, medical appointments or a gift you haven't bought yet, use a small widget that shows a count or a ring instead, and keep the full list one Face ID away. Codot encrypts your data and doesn't sell it, but that doesn't help if the task title is sitting on the Lock Screen.

FAQ

Can I put a to-do list on my iPhone Lock Screen without downloading an app?

Yes. Apple Reminders has Lock Screen widgets and can show your next reminder above the clock. Touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, then Add Widgets, and choose Reminders.

Can I check off tasks from the iPhone Lock Screen?

Some apps allow it. Codot's Lock Screen widget lets you tick off today's to-dos. Todoist documents completing tasks from Home Screen widgets but doesn't say so for the Lock Screen, so test it in your own app before you rely on it.

Why doesn't my to-do app show up when I add Lock Screen widgets?

Open the app once after installing or updating it, then try again. If the app is locked behind Face ID, iOS hides its widgets. A restart fixes most remaining cases.

How is Codot's Lock Screen widget different from Todoist's?

Todoist gives you more widget types and lets you pick which list to show, and its Add Task button opens the app so you can type. Codot's widget is built around today's list, and its mic lets you add several tasks or change your calendar by speaking, without opening the app. Todoist is the better choice for detailed project lists; Codot suits people who capture tasks on the move.

If your to-dos usually show up while your hands are full, download Codot free on the App Store, add the widget, and say the next thing you'd otherwise forget.