diff --git a/frontend/src/components/AppShell.vue b/frontend/src/components/AppShell.vue
index c8541ed..2a4ab75 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/AppShell.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/AppShell.vue
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ async function signOut() {
               <span class="flex-1 truncate">{{ f.name }}</span>
               <button
                 type="button"
-                class="text-neutral-400 opacity-0 hover:text-red-500 group-hover/view:opacity-100"
+                class="hover-reveal text-neutral-400 opacity-0 hover:text-red-500 group-hover/view:opacity-100"
                 :aria-label="`Delete view ${f.name}`"
                 @click.prevent.stop="removeView(f)"
               >
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/LinkPreview.vue b/frontend/src/components/LinkPreview.vue
index 5d60f9f..238bc3d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/LinkPreview.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/LinkPreview.vue
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ defineEmits<{ (e: "remove"): void }>();
     <button
       v-if="removable"
       type="button"
-      class="absolute right-1 top-1 rounded-full bg-black/50 px-1.5 text-white opacity-0 transition group-hover/lp:opacity-100"
+      class="hover-reveal absolute right-1 top-1 rounded-full bg-black/50 px-1.5 text-white opacity-0 transition group-hover/lp:opacity-100"
       aria-label="Remove preview"
       @click="$emit('remove')"
     >
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/NoteCard.vue b/frontend/src/components/NoteCard.vue
index 4f036d5..50a74af 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/NoteCard.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/NoteCard.vue
@@ -277,9 +277,11 @@ onBeforeUnmount(() => document.removeEventListener("mousedown", onDocMousedown))
     <!-- Toolbar overlays the card's top-right on hover/focus as a floating pill
          (window-control style) instead of reserving a permanent row — so at rest
          the card is content-sized with even padding, not text pinned to the top
-         above an empty strip. -->
+         above an empty strip.
+         `hover-reveal`: on a device that can't hover this is the ONLY way to pin,
+         colour or archive a note, so there it stays visible (see style.css). -->
     <div
-      class="pointer-events-none absolute right-1.5 top-1.5 flex items-center gap-0.5 rounded-full bg-white/85 p-0.5 opacity-0 shadow-sm ring-1 ring-black/5 backdrop-blur-sm transition focus-within:pointer-events-auto focus-within:opacity-100 group-hover:pointer-events-auto group-hover:opacity-100 dark:bg-neutral-900/85 dark:ring-white/10"
+      class="hover-reveal pointer-events-none absolute right-1.5 top-1.5 flex items-center gap-0.5 rounded-full bg-white/85 p-0.5 opacity-0 shadow-sm ring-1 ring-black/5 backdrop-blur-sm transition focus-within:pointer-events-auto focus-within:opacity-100 group-hover:pointer-events-auto group-hover:opacity-100 dark:bg-neutral-900/85 dark:ring-white/10"
     >
       <template v-if="note.trashed">
         <button type="button" class="icon-btn" title="Restore" aria-label="Restore" @click="notes.restore(note.id)">
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/NoteChecklist.vue b/frontend/src/components/NoteChecklist.vue
index 98e90ea..9401751 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/NoteChecklist.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/NoteChecklist.vue
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ function remove(item: ChecklistItem) {
       <button
         v-if="editable"
         type="button"
-        class="text-neutral-300 opacity-0 hover:text-neutral-600 group-hover/item:opacity-100 dark:hover:text-neutral-200"
+        class="hover-reveal text-neutral-300 opacity-0 hover:text-neutral-600 group-hover/item:opacity-100 dark:hover:text-neutral-200"
         aria-label="Delete item"
         @click="remove(item)"
       >
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/NoteEditor.vue b/frontend/src/components/NoteEditor.vue
index bbd39d5..1a28f96 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/NoteEditor.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/NoteEditor.vue
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ function revPreview(rev: NoteRevision): string {
               <img :src="att.url" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="h-24 w-24 rounded-lg object-cover" />
               <button
                 type="button"
-                class="absolute right-1 top-1 rounded-full bg-black/50 px-1.5 text-white opacity-0 transition group-hover/att:opacity-100"
+                class="hover-reveal absolute right-1 top-1 rounded-full bg-black/50 px-1.5 text-white opacity-0 transition group-hover/att:opacity-100"
                 aria-label="Remove attachment"
                 @click="notes.deleteAttachment(liveNote.id, att.id)"
               >
diff --git a/frontend/src/style.css b/frontend/src/style.css
index 848d8f4..c93a54d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/style.css
+++ b/frontend/src/style.css
@@ -39,11 +39,42 @@ body {
   }
 }
 
+/* Controls that a card or row reveals on hover — the note toolbar, the drag grip,
+ * per-item delete buttons. Marked with this class rather than expressed inline,
+ * because the rule below is the whole reason they need naming.
+ *
+ * A finger cannot hover. On a device with no hover at all these are not "harder to
+ * reach", they are unreachable — and for a note card the hover toolbar is the ONLY
+ * way to pin, colour or archive. So where hovering is impossible they are simply
+ * always present. `@media (hover: none)` asks the device directly, which is more
+ * honest than inferring it from viewport width: a small window on a laptop still
+ * hovers, and a large tablet still doesn't.
+ *
+ * Placed after the Tailwind directives so it wins on source order against the
+ * `opacity-0` / `pointer-events-none` utilities it overrides, without !important.
+ * The `group-hover:` reveal stays in the markup — the trigger differs per component
+ * (named groups), only this fallback is shared. */
+@media (hover: none) {
+  .hover-reveal {
+    opacity: 1;
+    pointer-events: auto;
+  }
+}
+
 @layer components {
   .icon-btn {
     @apply rounded-md p-1.5 text-neutral-500 transition hover:bg-black/5 focus:outline-none
       focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-brand dark:text-neutral-400 dark:hover:bg-white/10;
   }
+  /* Finger-sized where a finger is the input. p-1.5 around an 18px icon lands near
+   * 30px — comfortable for a cursor, too small for a thumb (Android asks 48dp,
+   * WCAG 2.2 AAA asks 44px). Scoped to coarse pointers so desktop chrome doesn't
+   * inflate; inline-flex because a bare min-height would leave the icon off-centre. */
+  @media (pointer: coarse) {
+    .icon-btn {
+      @apply inline-flex min-h-[2.75rem] min-w-[2.75rem] items-center justify-center;
+    }
+  }
   .nav-link {
     @apply flex items-center gap-2 rounded-lg px-3 py-2 font-medium text-neutral-600 transition
       hover:bg-neutral-200/60 focus:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-brand