How to Switch from Google Keep to Standard Notes

Why Switch from Google Keep to Standard Notes?

For many years, Google Keep has served as a convenient, free note-taking tool integrated deeply within the Google ecosystem. However, convenience often comes at a cost, particularly concerning user privacy and data ownership. Google’s business model relies on data collection, and while Keep offers basic encryption in transit, your notes are stored unencrypted on Google’s servers, accessible to them. This means your private thoughts, ideas, and sensitive information are part of a vast dataset that Google can analyze and potentially use.

Standard Notes, on the other hand, is built from the ground up with privacy and security as its core principles. It provides end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for all your notes, meaning only you can read your data – not Standard Notes, not your internet provider, and not any potential third parties. It’s also open-source, allowing security experts and the community to audit its code for vulnerabilities, fostering transparency and trust. Migrating to Standard Notes gives you superior control over your personal data, ensures your thoughts remain private, and frees you from the advertising-driven ecosystem of tech giants.

Before You Begin

Before embarking on your migration, ensure you have the following ready:

• An active Google account: This is where your Google Keep notes reside.
• A Standard Notes account: You’ll need to create one if you haven’t already. Both free and paid plans are available, with paid plans offering advanced features like various editors, themes, and extensions crucial for a rich note-taking experience.
• Standard Notes applications: Download and install the Standard Notes desktop application (Windows, macOS, Linux) or mobile app (iOS, Android) on your preferred devices.
• Sufficient disk space: Ensure you have enough storage on your computer to download and extract your Google Keep data.
• A stable internet connection: For downloading your export and syncing with Standard Notes.

Step-by-Step Migration

This section will walk you through the process of exporting your notes from Google Keep and bringing them into Standard Notes.

1. Create Your Standard Notes Account

If you haven’t already, sign up for a Standard Notes account at standardnotes.com. Once registered, download and install the application on your devices.

2. Export Your Data from Google Keep using Google Takeout

Google Keep doesn’t have an in-app export. You’ll use Google Takeout, Google’s data export service.

1. Visit Google Takeout: Open your web browser and go to takeout.google.com.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Google Takeout landing page, showing “Create a new export”)
2. Deselect All: Click “Deselect all” at the top of the product list.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: List of Google products, “Deselect all” highlighted)
3. Select Google Keep: Scroll down until you find “Keep” in the list, and check the box next to it.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: “Keep” checkbox selected)
4. Proceed to Next Step: Scroll to the bottom and click the “Next step” button.
5. Configure Export Settings:
   • Delivery method: Choose “Send download link via email”.
   • Frequency: Select “Export once”.
   • File type & size: Keep the default settings (.zip for file type, and 2 GB for size).
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Export settings screen with chosen options)
6. Create Export: Click “Create export”. Google will now prepare your archive. This can take some time.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Confirmation screen “Google is creating a copy of files from Keep”)
7. Download the Archive: Once the export is ready, you’ll receive an email from Google with a link to download your .zip archive. Click the link and download the file to your computer.

3. Prepare Your Exported Google Keep Notes

After downloading, locate the .zip file (e.g., takeout-YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ.zip) and extract its contents to a new folder on your computer. Inside, you’ll find a Keep folder. This Keep folder will contain:

• HTML files: Each of your notes will be saved as a separate .html file (e.g., My Grocery List.html). These are the easiest to work with for manual migration.
• JSON file: A single notes.json file containing all your notes in a structured, but complex, format.
• Attachment subfolders: Folders containing any images, audio recordings, or other attachments you had in your notes.

For most users, manually copying the content from the HTML files is the most straightforward approach.

4. Importing Your Data into Standard Notes

There is no direct “Google Keep Importer” in Standard Notes. We will primarily focus on manual transfer using the HTML files.

Option A: Manual Copy & Paste (Recommended for most users)

This method is reliable for ensuring all your content transfers correctly, especially if you want to clean up formatting as you go.

1. Open Standard Notes: Launch the Standard Notes application on your desktop.
2. Navigate to your extracted Keep folder: Open the Keep folder from your Google Takeout export.
3. Open a Keep note: Double-click on one of the .html files (e.g., My Important Note.html). It will open in your default web browser.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Browser showing an exported Google Keep HTML note)
4. Copy the content: Select all the main text content of the note in your browser and copy it (Ctrl+C or Cmd+C).
5. Create a new note in Standard Notes: In the Standard Notes app, click the + icon (usually in the bottom right or top left) to create a new note.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Standard Notes app, new note button highlighted)
6. Paste content: Paste the copied content into the Standard Notes editor (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V).
7. Add Title and Tags:
   • Manually type or paste the title of the note into the title field.
   • Add relevant tags (e.g., #imported-keep, #todo, #shopping) to help organize your notes. You can always refine these later.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Standard Notes editor with pasted content, title, and tags)
8. Repeat: Go through each of your important Keep notes, copying and pasting them into new Standard Notes.

Option B: Advanced - Using Community Scripts for Bulk Import (If you have many notes)

If you have hundreds or thousands of notes, manual copy-pasting is not feasible. In this case, you would need to leverage community-developed tools.

1. Research Community Tools: Search platforms like GitHub for scripts (often in Python) that can convert Google Keep’s notes.json file into a format compatible with Standard Notes’ JSON importer or separate Markdown files.
2. Run the Script: Follow the instructions provided with the script to convert your notes.json into the desired format (e.g., a .json file that matches Standard Notes’ backup format, or a folder of .md files).
3. Import into Standard Notes:
   • If the script outputs a Standard Notes-compatible .json backup file: Go to File > Import Backup in Standard Notes, select “Standard Notes” as the importer type, and choose your converted JSON file.
   • If the script outputs a folder of Markdown or plain text files: Go to File > Import Backup, select “Plain Text” as the importer type, and point it to your folder of converted files.
   • (Screenshot Placeholder: Standard Notes Import Backup dialog, showing importer options)

Handling Attachments (Images, Audio)

Google Keep attachments are exported as separate files. Standard Notes does not automatically import these with your text.

• Paid Standard Notes Users: If you have an Extended (paid) plan, you can use the FileSafe extension to manually upload images and other files directly into your notes.
• Free Standard Notes Users / External Storage: You will need to store your attachments in a cloud storage service (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, Nextcloud) and then copy the shareable link into your Standard Notes notes.

Tips for a Smooth Transition

• Start Small: Don’t feel obligated to migrate everything at once. Focus on your most important and active notes first.
• Use Tags Effectively: Standard Notes uses tags as its primary organization method. Spend some time creating a logical tag structure.
• Explore Standard Notes Features: Standard Notes has many powerful features, especially with a paid plan. Experiment with different editors (e.g., Markdown, Code, Markdown Math), themes, and extensions to find what works best for your workflow.
• Sync Regularly: Ensure your Standard Notes app is syncing regularly across all your devices to keep your notes up-to-date and backed up.
• Backup Standard Notes: Periodically create an encrypted backup of your Standard Notes data (File > Export Backup) and store it securely.

What You Might Miss (And Alternatives)

While Standard Notes excels in privacy and security, some specific Google Keep features might have different implementations or require alternative approaches:

• Reminders: Google Keep’s time- and location-based reminders are not directly replicated in Standard Notes.
  • Alternative: For simple reminders, you can add dates/times to your notes and use a separate calendar or task manager app. Standard Notes offers a ‘Tasks’ extension with advanced checklist features for paid users.
• Drawing/Handwriting: Keep’s drawing feature is absent.
  • Alternative: Use a dedicated drawing app, save the image, and embed/link it in a Standard Notes note (paid feature for embedding).
• Color-coding: Keep’s note colors for visual organization are not a direct feature.
  • Alternative: Use a robust tagging system (e.g., #urgent, #idea, #personal) and Smart Folders (paid feature) to categorize and quickly access notes.
• Direct Image/File embedding: While Google Keep makes it easy to snap a photo and attach it, Standard Notes requires the FileSafe extension (paid) for direct file uploads.
  • Alternative: Upload files to a cloud service and link to them in your notes, or use FileSafe for direct embedding.

Conclusion

Migrating from Google Keep to Standard Notes is a proactive step towards reclaiming your digital privacy and taking control of your personal data. While the process may require some manual effort due to the differences in platform design and export formats, the long-term benefits of end-to-end encryption, open-source transparency, and a focused, secure note-taking environment are invaluable.

Welcome to a world where your thoughts truly belong to you. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your notes are secure and private with Standard Notes.