Manual method
Preserve existing Keep notes, including supported attachments and descriptive metadata.
- Open Google Takeout, deselect other products and select Keep.
- Request a one-time ZIP archive using download-link delivery.
- Download the completed archive and extract a working copy.
- Keep note files and media folders together.
Coverage and limitations: Google documents text/list content, recordings, drawings, images, colors, pinned/archived state, collaborators and labels in the download. Deleted material is not promised; work/school restrictions may apply. Re-import into another notes app is a separate task.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative small / central / large case: 0.01 / 0.25 / 5 GB (decimal GB). These are planning assumptions, not a measured average per person. 250 MB models around 1,000 short notes with a modest number of images/voice clips. Text-only users need far less.
Preparation: Google’s general Takeout guidance allows minutes to days; small Keep exports still wait for provider preparation.
For the central 0.25 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection | Estimated transfer |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 4.8 minutes |
| 50 Mbps | 57 seconds |
| 100 Mbps | 29 seconds |
Assumes 70% sustained use of the stated connection. Provider throttling, many small files, retries, local extraction and copying add time. For online backup use your upload speed. These are not estimates of the provider’s preparation queue. See calculation and large-file advice.
Store and verify the archive
The example is small enough for an encrypted USB key, external drive or private cloud folder. Choose a second independent copy as well; a single USB key is easy to lose and a sync folder alone can propagate deletion.
Create google_keep/YYYY-MM-DD/originals/, preserve the untouched download, and extract a separate working copy when needed. Allow extra free space for archive plus extraction; compressed text can expand far beyond twice its size. Record account/scope, export date, date coverage and missing items in a local README without passwords.
Open a typed note, checklist, drawing, image and voice attachment; compare the expected labels and archived notes. Reopen a sample from the second copy before deleting or replacing any source. Storage choices and verification.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.