What to Tell with Archive in Google Keep and How Is It Different From Deleting?

Organizing notes in Google Keep can be difficult, as it doesn’t offer a folder structure for notes. But it offers other editing options like color coding of notes, tags and even Archive feature. Wait, what is meant by Archive in Google Keep? Does this question bother you too? Find the answer in this post.

The archive feature works differently in different apps. For example, you can archive photos in Google Photos, chats in WhatsApp, messages in Facebook Messenger, and posts in Instagram. Archive is often confused with deletion or trash. Also, let’s see how Archive in Google Keep differs from deletion.

The post will cover everything you want to know about Archive, how to do it, how to unarchive notes on mobile and computer, and the difference between Archive and Delete features.

What is Archive in Google Keep?

Archive is a smart way to clean the home screen of the Google Keep app. Hides your notes from the main view. Think of it as a private folder in Google Keep where you can hide your notes.

When a note is archived, it disappears from the main screen of the Google Keep app and goes to the Archive section. But the note is not deleted. Archived notes remain private until you manually unarchive them. And when you unarchive a note, it will reappear on the home screen.

Archiving a note does not hide it under its tags. So the note will be visible in tags attached to it. You can edit or modify archived notes without unarchiving them. Archived notes will also appear in search results. Archiving a shared note does not affect the others.

In a nutshell, you get all the features of Google Keep (color coding, reminders, tags, etc.)

How to Archive a Google Keep Note

Let’s check separately for mobile and computer.

How to Archive Google Keep Notes on Android and iPhone

Launch the Google Keep app on your mobile. Tap the note you want to archive. Tap the Archive icon in the upper right corner.

Alternatively, touch and hold the note on the home screen of the Google Keep app. Once the note is selected, tap the three-dot icon at the top and select Archive.

Pro Tip: To archive multiple notes, first select a note and then tap the notes you want to select. Then archive the notes. Check out other productivity tips for Google Keep mobile apps.

How to Archive Google Keep Notes on Computer

Open keep.google.com in any browser from your Windows or Mac computer. Hover your mouse over the note you want to archive. Then press the Archive icon. Similarly, you can archive multiple notes.

Pro Tip: You can use a keyboard shortcut to quickly archive notes. First select the note you want to archive, then press the E key on your keyboard. Check out other shortcuts that can be used with Google Keep.

How to Unarchive Notes in Google Keep

On the Google Keep website on the computer, click the Archive tab from the left sidebar. Here you will find all archived notes. Hover your mouse over the note you want to unarchive, and then click the Unarchive icon.

Pro Tip: Check out different ways to access Keeps notes on the web.

Open the Google Keep app on mobile. Tap the three-bar icon at the top. Select Archive.

Tap the note you want to unarchive. Press the unarchive icon in the upper right corner.

Archiving and Deleting in Google Keep

When you delete a note in Google Keep, it also disappears from Keep’s home screen. You may be wondering how Archive in Google Keep differs from deletion. The deleted note goes to the Trash or the Deleted folder, where it stays for seven days, and is then permanently removed from your account. You cannot access deleted notes after seven days. However, you can restore notes within seven days of deleting them. You can even permanently delete notes from Trash without waiting for seven days.

Unlike the archive, you cannot replace the deleted note without restoring it, this is possible in just seven days. Deleted notes will not appear in search results and they will lose any reminders added. Also, if you delete a note shared with others, those notes will be deleted for them as well.

Which to Use: Archive or Delete

While they may seem similar at first, each has a different use case. You should archive notes you don’t need at the moment or hide them from the main view for now. Archiving them will clear the clutter on the home page or screen of Google Keep. Extract them from the archive as needed. On the other hand, delete notes that you no longer need even in the future.

Next: Do you like Google Keep? Check out these 14 tips and tricks for Google Keep to increase your productivity.