10 of the Best Google Keep Tips You Need to Know

Google created Keep to serve as a note-taking app. It’s available on all major mobile platforms, such as Android, iOS, and on the Web – but there is also a Chrome extension. For both business and home life, Keep has many features that will help your organize your day and keep you focused.

Also read: Google Keep vs. Evernote vs. Apple Notes: Which Is the Best Note-Taking App?

1. Create Voice Memos

If you are in a hurry and don’t want to type, you can use Google Keep to record and transcribe voice messages. To create a voice memo, you must use a mobile device that has the Keep app installed.

1. Tap the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen.

2. Allow access to the microphone if permission is requested.

3. A microphone icon will appear on screen. Begin talking to record your message.

4. The recording will end when you stop speaking.
5. On the next screen, you will see the text of your message and the audio file below. Tap in the “Title” area to name your file. You can edit any errors in the message as well.

6. Tap the three dots in the lower-right corner to share, make copies, or add labels and collaborators.

7. Further customize the voice memos by tapping on the color palette icon in the lower-left corner to add a background color or image.

8. Tap on the “+” box in the left corner to add images, drawings, additional recordings and checkboxes, if desired.

Also read: How to Change the Background Color of Notes on iOS

2. Transcribe Text from a Handwritten List

Sometimes ideas pop into your head quickly, so you end up jotting them down on a piece of paper. If you want to share that list with a colleague or save it for later, Keep can transcribe it from your handwritten notes.

Mobile

1. Open the Keep app on your phone.
2. Tap on the Picture icon at the bottom.

3. Select “Take photo” to snap a pic of your note. Alternatively, if you already have the image, select “Choose image.”
4. Once the image has been added to Keep, you can add a Title, then tap on the Refresh icon underneath the picture.

5. Tap the three dots in the top right.

6. Select “Grab image text.”

7. Wait until the app does it magic. The results should appear in the lower part of the display. Make sure you check the text for any mistakes, as they appear relatively frequent (as you can see in the screenshot below).

Desktop

1. On PC, tap on the Picture icon in the upper-right corner of the “Take a note” bar.

2. Find your handwritten note on your computer and select it to upload it.
3. Tap on the three dots underneath the image.

4. Select “Grab image text.”
5. The text should appear underneath immediately. Once again, be sure to check for mistakes.

Also read: How to Keep Your Notes Organized with Obsidian

3. Add Labels to Notes

Google Keep does not support the use of folders and sub-folders. However, you can organize your notes with labels.

Mobile

You can create a label in the mobile app by following these steps:

1. Tap on the hamburger menu at the top.

2. Select “Create new label.”

3. Name your new label.
4. Press on the tick button to confirm. Your label has now been created.

5. To assign a label to a note, open one in the Keep app.
6. Tap the three-dots in the lower-right corner.

7. Select Labels.

8. Check a label from the list.

9. Alternatively, you can create a new one from there by tapping on the “Enter label name” field and typing in a name for it.

Desktop

You can assign labels to your notes and lists on Keep on your PC, too, straight from your browser.

1. Open Keep on your computer.
2. Select the “Edit Labels” option.

3. Type the name of your new label and click “Done.”
4. Open a note.
5. Tap on the three dots at the bottom.

6. Select “Add label.”
7. Select one of the options.

8. Alternatively, use the “Enter label name” field to create a new label directly from there.

Also read: The Best Web Apps to Dictate Your Docs and Notes

4. Quickly Create To-Do Lists

Google does have an app dedicated to creating to-do lists called Google Tasks, but Google Keep will also create these lists for you. To create a to-do list in Keep, follow these instructions:

Mobile

1. Tap the “New list” icon in the bottom-left corner in your mobile app.

2. Add a title, then start typing your to-do items. Tap on “+List item” to add the next one.

3. When you finish your task, tap the checkbox to move it to the “Checked items” list below.

4. You can customize your lists just like your notes, such as adding a colorful background images, or recordings to it.

5. You can also convert an existing note into a to-do list. To do so, tap the plus sign in the bottom left corner to find the “Checkboxes” option.

6. Your note will be converted into a list, allowing you to add new items.

Desktop

1. Tap the “New list” icon at the end of the “Take a note” bar.

2. Add a title, then start adding items. Press the Enter key to add the next one.

3. Don’t forget you can customize your list if you would like by adding a background and things like images and drawings.

4. Once you’re done adding items, click on “Close.”
5. The list will show up in the main Keep screen.
6. If you want to check off some completed items, open the list, then check the boxes next to the items you’ve completed to move them to the “Completed items” list.

7. Just like on mobile, you can convert a note into a list. Find the note and tap the three-dot icon.

8. Select “Show checkboxes,” which should make the note now look like a list.

Also read: How to Scan Documents in Notes App for iOS

5. Set Reminders

Do you have things you need to remember to do at a specific time or while you are in a particular place (like a store)? Create reminders in Keep and so that you won’t forget.

Mobile

1. Select a note.

2. In the upper-right corner of the display, tap on the bell icon to set a Reminder.

3. You can set reminders to go off at a certain time or place. Set your desired parameters in the options at the bottom.

Desktop

1. Open a note in Keep.
2. Tap on the bell icon at the bottom. (It’s the first one.)

3. Set the kind of reminder you want.

6. Add Notes from Your Email

If you receive an important email and want to write down a few notes based on what it says, you can quickly add it to Keep if it is in Gmail on your computer.

1. Click on the Keep shortcut on the right side of the screen.

2. Click “Take a note.”
3. The title of the email will display in the new note. Type a note to yourself about the email if you wish. Once you save it, you can add a reminder so that you remember to read it after a busy day.

Also read: How to Transfer Voice Notes from iPhone

7. Share Errands and Manage Your Shopping

For families where each person has a responsibility, this is a remarkable solution. Google Keep’s reminder and collaborator feature allows you to do this seamlessly.

If you have a joint errand to undertake, each person can tick the chores off as they complete them. Doing this updates the rest of the team. Think of it as a mini project management software! Here’s how to use this feature.

Mobile

1. Open a note in the mobile Keep app.
2. Tap on the three dots in the lower right part of the display and select “Collaborator.”

3. Add people to the Collaborators list using their phone number or email.

4. Press “Save” once you’re done adding people.
5. Keep will send an email to your collaborators inviting them to contribute. Note that collaborators also need to have Google Keep installed to add to the notes.

Desktop

1. On your computer, open a note and click on the People icon at the bottom.

2. Start adding people by using their emails. You can add as many as you would like.

3. As on the mobile app, Keep will send a copy of your plans to your collaborators’ emails so that they can contribute to the task. Be sure they’re all on board with your ideas before including their emails on your list.

8. Switch to Dark Mode

Google Keep also has a dark mode, so if you want to give your eyes a rest, here’s how to enable it.

Mobile

1. Open the Keep app and tap on the hamburger icon in the upper-right corner.

2. Select “Settings.”

3. Go to “Theme.”

4. Select “Dark.”

Desktop

1. Click on the Gear icon in the upper-right corner.

2. Select “Enable dark mode.”

Also read: Get Organized with the Simple, Yet Powerful QOwnNotes

9. Add Keep Notes from Any App

Stumbled upon an interesting piece of information online and want to save it? You can send a note to the Keep mobile app by following these easy steps.

1. Find a piece of text you’d like to transform into a Keep note.
2. Highlight it by long-tapping on it and dragging your finger to include the entire phrase.

3. Select the Share option from the mini menu that appears at the top.

4. Select the Keep app from the options available.

5. A card will now be generated featuring the text with the link to the article as shown below. Press “Save.”

6. Go back to Keep to find the note in the app.

On iOS, things are a little bit different when you try to create a note from a webpage. Basically, you can create a note containing the link to the page.

1. Open a page in your browser.
2. Tap on the Share button at the bottom.

3. Select the Keep app from your list of options. (You may need to press the three-dots (More) button in order to find the app.)

4. A card featuring a link to the website in question will appear on the display. Write your note underneath and then press “Post” to save the note.

5. Visit the Keep app to find the note containing the link.

10. Use the Super Powerful Search

The search function in Google Keep works really well, so take advantage of it. For instance, you can search for words that appear in handwritten notes, and Keep will find it effortlessly. Searching looks through active notes as well as archived ones.

For this reason, storing passwords in Keep may not be a good idea. If you want to do it anyway, you may want to use code words and hints to remember passwords to eliminate the risks involved of someone else easily stumbling upon them.

Also read: 7 Useful Apps For Keeping Online Video Diaries

Frequently Asked Questions

1. The handwriting transcription feature doesn’t work for me, what can I do?

If Google Keep keeps looping when you ask it to transcribe handwritten notes, you might be dealing with a random bug. You can try to close and reopen the app, but if that doesn’t work, try waiting it out. Try again in a few hours and hopefully it will be up and running again.

2. What other Google services integrate with Keep?

On top of Gmail, you can easily send notes to Keep from Google Drive, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

3. Are there any worthy Google Keep alternatives out there?

Evernote is one of the better-known Google Keep alternatives. If you’re on iOS, here’s a list of note-taking apps you may also want to try. Some of them also have Android counterparts.