memlow

Can't find a note? Where to look

On Android and on the webUpdated

When notes disappeared from your list, they're usually still in Memlow: in Archive, in Trash, behind a lock, or among your Goals. Check those places first, in the order below. If the note isn't in any of them, it may be on another device, or in a backup.

Where to find Archive, Trash and Shared

On Android

Open Folders from the bar along the bottom. Under your folders and tags are Shared, Archive and Trash.

On the web

On a computer, Shared, Archive and Trash are in the sidebar. On a phone, open Folders from the bar along the bottom: they're on that page.

It's in Archive

Archived notes leave Home but stay in Memlow.

  1. Open Archive.
  2. Open the note, and choose Unarchive to put it back on Home.

Search treats Archive differently on each app.

On Android

Search includes archived notes, and labels them. The Archived chip shows only archived ones.

On the web

Search leaves archived notes out until you turn on the Include archive chip.

It's in Trash

A deleted note waits in Trash for 30 days, then goes for good. Search doesn't look in Trash.

  1. Open Trash.
  2. Find the note. On Android, a note that isn't in a folder says how many days it has left.
  3. Choose Restore.

After 30 days, or after Empty Trash, the note can only come back from a backup. See Recover deleted notes from Trash.

Trash on Android with a deleted shopping list and the days left before it goes

It's locked

Search finds a locked note by its title only. Words inside it don't match. A locked note's card shows its title and no text. On Android, a locked folder needs your PIN to open, too.

  1. Search for the note's title, or look for its locked card on Home.
  2. Open it with your PIN or fingerprint.

It's a goal

A note you made into a goal moves off Home. Goals have their own list.

  1. Open Tasks.
  2. Switch to Goals at the top.

A folder shows its goals too, and search finds them.

A search filter or folder is still on

  1. In Search, turn off every chip and colour you picked, then search again.
  2. Try one word from the note, or a different spelling.
  3. If the note had a tag, open that tag. Tags are listed in Folders on Android and in the sidebar on the web.

For what search covers, see Search your notes in any language.

It was on your other device

If you wrote the note on your phone and you're looking on the computer (or the other way round), it may not have synced yet.

  1. Open Memlow on the device where you wrote it, and check the note is there.
  2. Check that both devices use the same Google Drive and backup password.
  3. Wait a few seconds with both open, or pull down on Home on Android.

See Notes not syncing between devices.

It was a shared note

A note someone shared with you leaves your Memlow when:

  • you left the notebook, or the owner removed you;
  • the owner stopped sharing, or deleted the note;
  • the link you added it with was turned off, replaced by a new link, or ran out of time.

If you left with Keep a copy of its notes as my own on, the copies are in a folder of their own. When a notebook is archived for not being used, you keep your copy too: Memlow says "Your copy stays in your notes." Otherwise:

  1. Open Shared and check the note or notebook isn't still listed there.
  2. Ask the owner to invite you again, or to send a new link.

You signed out, or used another browser

On Android

Signing out of your Memlow account backs your notes up to Google Drive, then removes them from the phone.

  1. Tap Account in the bottom bar, and sign in again.
  2. Open your backups with your backup password, or approve from another signed-in device.

On the web

Notes on the web live in one browser. A different browser, browser profile or computer doesn't have them, and a private window loses them when it closes. Signing out also removes them from the browser, after a backup.

  1. Open Memlow in the browser you used before.
  2. Or sign in here, and link the same Google Drive to bring your notes in.

If you used Memlow at memlow.com before it moved to app.memlow.com, open app.memlow.com in that same browser. Memlow brings those notes over once, as long as that browser has no notes at app.memlow.com yet. It then says "Your notes from memlow.com are all here."

A change went wrong

If the note is there but its words aren't, the web app keeps earlier versions of it.

  1. On the web, open the note's More menu and choose Version history.
  2. Pick a version, then Restore this version or Make a copy.

See Restore an earlier version of a note.

Bring it back from a backup

If none of the above finds it, restore a backup that still has the note. Choose Merge: it adds the notes from the backup, and where a note is in both, keeps the newer copy.

On Android

  1. Open Settings, then Restore from a backup.
  2. Choose Google Drive or Backup file.
  3. Enter the backup password, then choose Merge.

On the web

  1. For a Drive backup, open Settings, then Storage and Google Drive, and choose Restore next to a backup.
  2. For a file, open Settings, then Backup and data, and choose Choose file next to Restore from a backup file.
  3. Enter the backup password, then choose Merge.

Still can't find it?

Write to [email protected]. Please include your Memlow version (Settings, then About), your phone or browser, roughly when you last saw the note, and what you've tried. We can't see your notes, so please don't send their text.

Questions and answers

Is it in Archive, Trash or a folder?

Check Archive and Trash first: on Android they're under Folders; on the web, in the sidebar or under Folders on a phone. Notes in Trash stay for 30 days.

Is it locked and hidden from search?

Search finds a locked note by its title only. Search for the title, or look for its locked card, and open it with your PIN.

Was it on another device?

Notes reach your other devices only when both use the same Google Drive and backup password. Open Memlow where you wrote the note, and check that sync is set up.