Google hasn't forgotten about Keep's lock screen notes (yet)

A couple of years ago, we published evidence that Android 14 was laying the groundwork to let users take quick notes in Google Keep using a new lock screen shortcut. That feature never publicly materialized, but now it seems like Google’s taking another crack at it.

Experimenting with the latest version of Google Keep, we were able to see hidden settings that reference lock screen notes. The feature isn’t actually working yet, but it does look like it could be released any time now.

Back in late 2023, Android 14’s developer settings let users set a default app for note-taking. Once you’d done that, you could set a lock screen shortcut to quickly take notes. Google Keep was eligible to be that app, but it never actually supported the functionality — calling the app up using the shortcut only showed a message that said Keep needed an update.

In the latest version 5.26.181.01.90 of Google Keep, we’ve again been able to access settings that refer to this lock screen notes functionality. We were able to get the option working on Android 17 QPR1 Beta 1 by enabling the Notes role for Keep in developer options, but trying to enable the features otherwise leads to a screen that says “Coming soon.”

Keep will let you choose how long to keep a note taken from the lock screen active: there are options to start a new note each time you access Keep from the lock screen, or to return to the same note for five minutes, two hours, the whole day, or always.

A couple of new strings in Keep’s code even mention lock screen notes by name:

The previous iteration of this feature also included options to open your default note-taking app when pressing a button on a paired stylus. We haven’t seen that particular functionality in this latest version.

We don’t know when this option will make its way to our devices, and it’s always possible Google could change course again, delaying or scrapping the idea altogether. I’m hoping we see it soon: being able to jot down quick notes without unlocking my phone would definitely make Keep more useful for me, personally.