Import
Move from Google Keep to Readbird
Google Takeout hands you your Keep notes as one ZIP. Readbird reads it as it is: notes arrive with their checklists, labels, pinning and dates, and pictures can come along.
How the move works
Keep has no export button of its own — your notes leave through Google Takeout. Ask Takeout for Keep only, download the ZIP and give it to Readbird without unpacking it.
In Readbird your notes land in the Notes section: text and checklists keep their shape, labels become labels, pinned notes stay pinned, and everything is searchable. Notes can also be shared with others and edited together.
Servers are in the EU, there are no ads, and every feature is free while Readbird is in beta.
How to move your Keep notes
Takeout produces a ZIP with one file per note and the pictures next to them. Readbird recognises it by its content, so the ZIP can be named anything.
How to move the file
- Open Google Takeout, choose only Keep among the products and request the export. Download the ZIP when it is ready.
- Open Readbird, choose “Add content” and go to the “Move everything to Readbird” block.
- Pick the ZIP as it is. Leave “Transfer note images” on if you want your pictures to come along.
- Wait for the report: how many notes were found, imported and skipped, and why.
What moves over from Google Keep and what does not
| What | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Title and text | Moves over | The title and the text of every note, line by line. |
| Checklists | Moves over | List items arrive as a checklist with their ticked state. Keep exports lists flat, so there are no sub-levels. |
| Labels | Moves over | Keep labels become labels in Readbird (up to 100 new labels per import). |
| Pinned notes | Moves over | A pinned note stays pinned. |
| Date | Partly | The creation date is kept and orders the notes. The date of the last edit is not carried over. |
| Web links | Moves over | Links attached to a note arrive as clickable links under its text. |
| Pictures | Partly | Pictures are moved when the option is on, up to 20 per note. Other attachments (audio, drawings, PDFs) are not, and the report counts them. |
| Archived notes | Partly | They arrive as ordinary notes, so you see them and can sort them yourself. |
| Trash | Does not move | Notes you had thrown away are skipped, not brought back. |
| Colours, reminders, bold and italic | Does not move | These are not read. Text comes across without Keep’s colours, reminders and character formatting. |
Limits to know about
- A ZIP can be up to 256 MB with pictures on, 64 MB without them. Bigger exports have to be split in Takeout.
- One note keeps up to about 120 KB of text; a longer one is cut and the report counts it.
- The Notes list loads up to 5,000 notes and draws the first 500, then more as you scroll or tap “Show more”. If the import takes you above 5,000, the report says how many of the oldest are not visible in the list; they stay saved and are included in the export.
- Import the same ZIP again and nothing is doubled: notes already in Readbird are recognised and skipped.
Import
Questions about moving from Google Keep
Do I need to unpack the Takeout ZIP?
No. Give Readbird the ZIP as it is; it finds the notes and the pictures inside.
Are my checklists kept?
Yes, with their ticked state. Keep exports lists without sub-levels, so Readbird shows them flat as well.
What happens to notes I deleted in Keep?
Notes from Keep’s trash are skipped. Nothing you threw away comes back.
Does importing cost anything?
No. Import is free, and so is leaving: one button in Settings exports everything you have in Readbird.
Switching
Bring your notes over
Start with the import window, or simply write your first note.