Google Tasks may finally pick up this much-needed feature

Andy Walker / Android Authority

TL;DR

We’ve uncovered evidence in the latest version of the Google Tasks app suggesting that a dedicated search bar is finally in the works.
We also spotted an early look at the search icon, though the feature is not yet available.
This would be a major addition to the Tasks app, given that some of its rival to-do apps already offer a fully functioning search feature.

Google Tasks has seen a range of upgrades over the past year or so, including support for deadlines as well as the migration of Keep reminders. However, unlike some other to-do apps on the market, Tasks doesn’t offer a built-in search function to look through your to-dos or reminders. It now looks like that could change in a forthcoming update of Google’s task manager app.

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Looking into version 2026.08.24.96 of Google Tasks, we’ve found early evidence suggesting a dedicated search bar may be coming to the app. While we were unable to activate the search bar ahead of its release, one particular string in the app’s code leaves little to the imagination:

Code

<string name="tasks_search_bar_hint">Search tasks</string>

As the code above suggests, the hint text inside the search bar could read “Search tasks.” We also discovered an icon, possibly depicting the upcoming search bar, along with an XML file that also references search.

AssembleDebug / Android Authority

This gives us a decent idea of what this long-awaited search bar could look like, even though we don’t yet know when (or if) it will be implemented. We have additionally found more elements in the code related to the layout of this under-development search bar:

Code

<com.google.android.material.search.SearchBar android:id="@id/multi_list_search_bar" android:tag="toolbar" android:visibility="gone" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_marginTop="4.0dp" android:layout_marginBottom="4.0dp" android:hint="@string/tasks_search_bar_hint" android:layout_marginStart="8.0dp" android:layout_marginEnd="8.0dp" android:touchscreenBlocksFocus="false" android:layout_marginVertical="4.0dp" app:layout_scrollFlags="scroll|enterAlways" style="@style/TasksSearchBar"/>

It’s surprising that Google Tasks doesn’t already offer a search function, especially since competitors like TickTick, Todoist, and others already do. But as the adage goes, it’s better late than never, and frequent users can only hope Google won’t make them wait too long for a basic function like this.

While these are encouraging signs, finding a search icon and a few lines of code doesn’t necessarily guarantee the search bar will appear in the near future. However, this is one of those features that we would like to see included sooner rather than later.

⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.

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