Want a verse on every screen? Psalmo is free.
Android home screens are the most flexible canvas in mobile. Pixel phones, Samsung Galaxies, OnePlus phones, and dozens of others all support widgets, and the setup looks a little different on each. The good news: a Bible verse widget for Android takes a few taps on any of them. One thing to know up front is that the lock screen works differently from phone to phone, and this guide covers that too.
To add a Bible verse widget to your Android home screen, install Psalmo from Google Play, long-press an empty area of your home screen, tap “Widgets”, find Psalmo, then drag the size you want onto a free spot. Setup takes two to three minutes on Pixel, Samsung One UI, and most other Android phones.
This guide covers setup on Pixel and Samsung, the three widget sizes, the lock-screen question (short answer: that has its own guide), and what to do when the widget shows an old verse.
What you’ll need
- An Android phone running Android 7.0 or later
- A free Bible widget app. We’ll use Psalmo, which needs no account
- About three minutes
That’s the whole list. Psalmo’s daily verse widget is on the free plan, alongside three themes (Classic, Dark, Minimal).
How to add a Bible verse widget to your Android home screen
The wording differs slightly between manufacturers. The shape is the same: install the app, long-press the home screen, open Widgets, add Psalmo.
Step 1: Install Psalmo from Google Play
Open the Play Store, search Psalmo, and tap Install. When the app opens for the first time, it asks which verse topics you’d like. Pick a few to start.
Step 2: Long-press your home screen
Press and hold any empty area of your home screen for about a second. A menu appears. Tap Widgets.
Step 3: Find Psalmo and pick a size
Scroll until you find Psalmo, or use the search field. Tap to expand. Three sizes appear:
| Size | Grid | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 2×2 cells | Short verses, tucked beside your apps |
| Medium | 4×2 cells | Most verses, full width |
| Large | 4×4 cells | Longer passages, as the centerpiece of a page |
Step 4: Put the widget on a free spot
On Pixel and most Android phones, press and hold the size you want and drag it to a free area. On Samsung, select the size and tap Add. Either way, you can move it afterwards by pressing and holding it. Medium and large can be resized with the handles that appear.
Step 5: Choose your verse topics
Open Psalmo and pick the topics you’d like the widget’s verses to come from. The widget shows today’s verse in the theme you’ve chosen in the app.
Pixel vs Samsung: small differences worth knowing
Adding the widget. Pixel uses drag and drop. Samsung’s support pages describe selecting the widget and tapping Add.
Widget stacks on Samsung. Touch and hold a widget, tap Create stack, and add a second widget to the same spot. Swipe to move between them.
Apps going to sleep on Samsung. One UI puts apps you haven’t opened recently to sleep. See the fix list below. Our Samsung One UI guide goes into detail.
What about a Bible verse on the Android lock screen?
Short answer: Psalmo’s Android widget lives on the home screen, and the lock screen is a separate job with its own guide. See how to put a Bible verse on your Android lock screen for the three methods that work, including the daily verse notification and what recent Pixel and Samsung phones can do.
One thing worth doing here: if your phone unlocks to your main home screen, put the Psalmo widget at the top of that page. It’s then the first thing you see when the phone wakes.
If you use an iPhone, lock-screen widgets are built in. The iPhone lock-screen guide walks through that setup.
Common reasons your Android Bible widget isn’t updating
The widget shows yesterday’s verse. Open Psalmo once. The widget updates when the app opens.
The widget went blank after a restart. Press and hold the widget, remove it, and add it again from the widget picker. Your topics and theme are kept in the app.
The daily reminder stopped arriving. Your phone may be limiting the app in the background. On Pixel: Settings → Apps → See all apps → Psalmo → App battery usage → Allow background usage. On Samsung: Settings → Battery → Background usage limits → Never auto sleeping apps → add Psalmo.
Nothing else works. Go to Settings → Apps → Psalmo → Force stop, then open the app again.
How Psalmo helps with home-screen scripture on Android
Psalmo runs on Android and iPhone, with the same topics and themes on both. On Android it offers all three home-screen widget sizes and 26 themes. The free plan includes the daily verse widget, three themes (Classic, Dark, Minimal), six verse topics, and app blocking for up to 3 apps. Premium adds the other 23 themes, every topic, your own photo as a background, and AI Bible chat.
The full Bible is inside the app, offline, in 19 translations across 13 languages, with the King James Version as the default. Whichever translation you choose is the one your widget uses.
A few things pair well with the widget:
- Daily reminder: a verse on your lock screen at the time you choose
- Verse topics, so what you read matches the season you’re in
- App blocking: pick the apps that distract you, and Psalmo shows a Scripture passage before they open. Our guide to apps that lock social media until Bible reading covers the wider category
Frequently asked questions
How do I put a Bible verse on my Android home screen?
Install a Bible widget app such as Psalmo, long-press an empty area of your home screen, tap Widgets, find the app, and drag the size you want onto the screen. On Samsung, tap the widget and then tap Add.
Does Android support Bible verse widgets the same way iPhone does?
On the home screen, yes: both have small, medium, and large widgets and a similar long-press setup. The lock screen differs. iPhone has had lock-screen widgets since iOS 16. Android removed them in 2014 and brought them back on Pixel phones with Android 16 QPR2, and other brands vary.
Can I put a Bible verse on my Samsung Galaxy lock screen?
Not as a Psalmo widget. Use Psalmo’s daily reminder, which appears on your Galaxy lock screen as a notification. Samsung’s own lock-screen widgets come from a list Samsung provides. Our Android lock-screen guide has the full steps.
What Bible verse widget apps are there for Android?
Psalmo, YouVersion, and Bible Widgets by Monkey Taps all have Android widgets. YouVersion is free and follows the Bible version you last read. Bible Widgets is theme-focused. Psalmo pairs its widget with Scripture before the apps you choose to block.
Can I use Psalmo’s widget without paying?
Yes. The daily verse widget in all three sizes is on the free plan, alongside three themes (Classic, Dark, Minimal) and six verse topics. Premium adds 23 more themes, every topic, custom photo backgrounds, and AI Bible chat.
Why is my Android Bible widget showing yesterday’s verse?
Open the app once. Psalmo’s widget updates when the app opens. If the widget is blank after a restart, remove it and add it again from the widget picker.
Platform steps come from Google’s and Samsung’s support pages and the Android Developers Blog, checked September 29, 2026. Menus vary between phone models and software versions.
If you’d like to try it, Psalmo is free on Android (and on iOS if you switch later).
