Google Keep is a free, simple notetaking service with apps on Android and iOS, which can be also used on the web via a google account. Notes can easily be integrated with Google Docs. I use an android phone, a MacBook and a PC and can easily use and sync Keep across all my devices.
Advantages of using Google Keep
Keep has simple tools for making lists, notes, image notes and audio notes. You can set reminders and arrange your notes in either a single column or multi-column view. Notes can be colour coded and labelled. Audio notes can be stored as audio or transcribed as text â which is quite a useful function. Whilst I havenât used it myself, text from images can be extracted using optical character recognition.
Notes can be pinned at the top. For instance, I often keep a shopping list and a to-do list up top. Notes can be shared with others in your Google contact list. I love the fact that if I share a note I can collaborate in real-time. I share my shopping list with my husband so we can both add items. Notes can be converted into checklists, which is a useful feature. When you tick the box it crosses out/greys out the item. (However, it can still be seen at the bottom of the list unless you delete it). Itâs easy to change the order of your list and move a line up or down as you require.
Challenges of using Keep
Keep has had mixed reviews since inception but has been praised for its speed, synchronization and quality of voice notes. It has been criticised for a lack of formatting options but I donât find this an issue at all. I donât need fancy formatting for to-do lists. The linked article mentions not being able to pin notes to show up first but this function has since been added. Another criticism was the lack of âundoâ function but in July this year, Google updated Keep on Android with undo and redo buttons.
There are plenty of other note-taking apps around that may have better functionality but I like Keepâs simple, clean, intuitive ease of use plus its complete lack of whizzbang complexity.
by Anne Bell