Google Keep is getting a version history, but only on the Web

Google Keep is a note taking application and service by Google. It is available natively on many Android devices, for iOS and also as a web-based version. Google is rolling out a version history feature for Google Keep that allows users to access previous versions of notes.

Google Keep is a simple note taking service that supports synchronization. Notes are accessible on all user devices and on the Web. While there are better alternatives, the open source tool Joplin comes to mind, it is widely used by Google users.

Google Keep did not support a version history up until now. This changes with the ongoing rollout, but there are still limitations.

One of the main limitations is that the version history is only available on the Keep website and not in the Google Keep apps for Android or iOS. While there is a chance that this may change in the future, it is a limiting factor. There are other limitations, more about them later.

Here are the steps required to access the version history of notes in Google Keep:

Open the Google Keep website in a browser. This should work in mobile devices and desktop devices.
Sign-in to the Google account, if prompted to do so.
Hover over a note or click/tap on a note.
Select the three-dots icon in the bottom right corner, labeled more, and then Version history.
Select an available version and activate download.

Each version is listed with time, date and author information. It lacks a preview feature, which means that it may sometimes require trial and error to find the right historic version of a note. An option to download all versions is missing.

Google notes that the current iteration of version history supports textual changes only. Images do not appear in the version history. Furthermore, the selected version is not displayed in the app, but downloaded as a text file.

First reported by AssembleDebug on Twitter, version history is a sign of life that may reassure users that Google Keep is not on the company’s chopping block.

Version history is a welcome addition to Keep, despite its limitations.

Now You: which note taking app, if any, do you use?

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