Google Keep had an awesome feature that made it downright impossible to forget things, but it’s being removed, and there’s no replacement in sight. This isn’t just a one-off situation, though. Google continues to “upgrade” users to worse experiences.
It was the perfect system
If you’re like me, reminders are an incredibly important part of staying on top of things. Taking out the trash, dropping off packages at the post office, pulling food out of the freezer for dinner, vacuuming the house—the list goes on and on. I don’t have the brain to remember all of these things on my own, so I rely on apps to help.
Now, Google has two apps that can help with this: Keep Notes and Tasks. I use Google Tasks for recurring reminders and one-offs, but when lists are required, Google Keep is the obvious choice. That’s where I keep shopping lists for various stores. I have lists for general groceries, Home Depot, Target, a thrift store, and a couple of others. You might think it sounds convoluted, but it works really well because of a lesser-known feature: location-based reminders.
As the name implies, these reminders pop up on your phone when you enter a specific location, like a store. I add items to these lists by talking to my Google Home speakers: “add maple syrup to grocery list” or “add wood glue to Home Depot list,” etc. Each list also has a location reminder enabled for that specific store. When I’m at the store, the list appears in my notifications.
This system is—well, was—frankly, awesome. It all Just Worked™ without much manual input. However, Google began the process of offloading Keep reminders to Google Tasks last year, and location reminders have gotten lost in the shuffle. There’s no replacement in sight.
Left without an alternative
Google is, of course, no stranger to killing off apps, services, and features. However, there’s usually some sort of recommendation for users who are being left behind. That’s decidedly not the case this time, though. Here’s the message that popped up in Google Keep:
Location reminders are going away soon
Keep reminders will be saved to Tasks and the option to set reminders for a location will no longer be available. Location data for existing reminders will be available in the task description but will not trigger notifications.
While Google doesn’t seem concerned with providing a replacement for location reminders, there are some third-party alternatives to consider. Tasks.org is a simple, ad-free, and open-source app that syncs with Google Tasks and has location reminders. It seems like a really nice app, and it might work for you, but it’s not a solution for me.
My problem with Tasks.org is right in the name: it’s for tasks. Location reminders are being removed from Google Keep—Google Tasks never had them to begin with. Keep is more for notes than tasks, so this doesn’t fix the situation for those users who relied on location reminders.
On a more personal level, all of this throws a huge wrench in my smart speaker system. Even if I did find a list-based app with location reminders, it would have to sync with Google Keep as well. The ability to interact with third-party apps through Google Assistant was significantly downgraded a few years ago, and gone completely with Gemini. We’re stuck with Google’s own proprietary apps for better or worse.
More “Upgrades”
Giving Google the benefit of the doubt, I somewhat understand the decision to move Keep reminders to Tasks. One could argue that reminders don’t make sense in a notes app. However, it’s ironic that in the process of making Tasks the de facto app for reminders, Google downgraded reminders functionality in another app. That’s what’s most frustrating.
This isn’t an unusual situation, either. It reminds me of the switch from Google Assistant to Gemini. Naturally, you would expect such a change to come about because the new product is better. However, Google readily admitted that it needed more time to bring Gemini up to par in certain areas.
We’ve seen a similar thing happen with Google Search, the company’s original product. Search quickly became wildly popular because of its speed and simplicity. There was no better way to access information on the internet. In recent years, however, Google has continued to “update” Search with features that make it a more drawn-out and untrustworthy experience.
I could say the same about how Google is slowly ruining Messages as well, but you get the point. This is clearly a trend in the tech industry that isn’t exclusive to Google. It’s not a great feeling as a consumer to be told you’re being “upgraded” only to find out you’ve lost a feature you relied on.
Google Has Abandoned What Made People Love Google
For many of us, Google was the gateway to the internet. It was a clean, inviting homepage—an oasis among the chaotic web of the late 90s. That simple, efficient elegance was what made Google popular, but somewhere along the way, that guiding principle was abandoned.
