A location based reminder app for Android, and which one to use

If you used to set location reminders in Google Keep, you may have noticed the option is gone. On Android today, two good choices remain: on a Samsung Galaxy, the built-in Samsung Reminder app can alert you when you arrive at or leave a place. On any phone with Android 13 or later, TackNote for Android lets you tack a whole note to a place, so the list, photos or recording on it reach you when you arrive.

Which one fits depends on your phone, whether you need an alert when you leave, and how much has to arrive with the reminder. The three questions below sort that out, and the rest of this post explains each answer, including where TackNote falls short.

What happened to location reminders in Google Keep

Google's current Keep help page for Android describes a reminder as a time, a date and a repeat, with no place option (Google Keep Help). Android Headlines reported in January 2026 that the ability to create location reminders had already been removed from Keep (Android Headlines).

Keep is still a fine place for notes and timed reminders. It just no longer reminds you of something when you reach the hardware store, so people who relied on that are looking for an app that does.

Samsung Reminder, on Galaxy phones

Samsung's own Reminder app can set a place as the trigger. You tap Pick a place, search for where you want to be reminded and confirm it on the map, or use your current location. You choose whether to be alerted when you arrive or when you leave, and you can set the reminder to repeat every time you are at that place (Samsung Support).

If you have a Galaxy phone and what you need at the door is one line, like "return the library book", Samsung Reminder is already on your phone and does the job well. It also covers two cases TackNote does not: alerts when you leave, and places you have not been to yet.

TackNote for Android

TackNote is a notes app, and a place is one of the things a note can hold. A note can be text, a checklist, photos, a video or a recording with its transcript, or all of them at once. When you tack that note to a place, the whole note is what is waiting for you there:

• At the hardware store: the list, plus a photo of the broken part.
• In a parking garage: a photo of the level and the pillar number.
• At a job site: the checklist of what is still open and the recording from last visit.
• At the storage unit: the photo that shows which box is where.

How to tack a note to a place

1. Stand where the note belongs. Open the note and tap the pin, labeled Tack to a place.
2. Call it something. Give the place a name, like "The hardware store". The name is the title of the notification, and the note's title is the line under it.
3. Choose how close is close enough. A slider sets the area from 100 to 500 meters. The default is 150.
4. Tap Tack it here. The first time, TackNote explains what it uses your location for, then Android asks for location access and permission to send notifications. It does not ask at launch, only when you choose to use a place.

The note stays tacked until you untack it, so it reminds you each time you arrive, not just once. To change your mind, open the note's place and tap Move it here or Untack this note.

Reaching you with the app closed

Android asks for location in two steps. With location allowed while the app is in use, tacked notes reach you while TackNote is open. For a note to find you with TackNote closed, Android needs location set to Allow all the time, and TackNote explains why on the note before it asks. The Places screen says which one is in effect: "Your notes can reach you anywhere" or "Notes reach you while TackNote is open". Tacked places are also put back after the phone restarts.

Seeing which places are being watched

Android lets one app watch up to 100 places at a time. TackNote watches the 90 tacked places nearest to you and re-ranks them as you move. Every tacked note on the Places screen says its own state: "Watching" with the distance, "You are here now", or a plain explanation when location is off. A note that is too far away says "It will start watching as you get closer" instead of silently never firing.

Where your location goes

Your location stays on the phone. TackNote uses it to notice when you reach a place you tacked a note to, and it is not sent to us or shared with anyone. Recording where each new note was written is a separate setting called Remember where notes are written, and it is off until you turn it on.

Samsung Reminder and TackNote side by side

Where TackNote falls short

• You tack a note where you are standing. There is no address search, so you cannot tack a note to a store you have not been to yet.
• Arriving only. TackNote does not alert you when you leave a place.
• The smallest area is 100 meters. Android's developer guide recommends a minimum of 100 to 150 meters for best results (Android Developers), so a reminder for one aisle or one room is not something it can promise.
• No sync with the computer yet. TackNote for Android keeps its own notes for now, separate from TackNote for Mac and Windows, which is a separate purchase.
• Android 13 or later only.

Which one fits you

These are the same answers the quiz at the top gives:

• A Samsung Galaxy, and you need an alert when you leave or for a place you have not visited: Samsung Reminder. TackNote cannot do either.
• Another Android phone, and you need an alert when you leave or for a place you have not visited: TackNote cannot do either, and Google Keep no longer sets place reminders. Look for a reminder app that lists leaving alerts or address search on its store page.
• A Samsung Galaxy, and one line of text is enough: Samsung Reminder. It is already on your phone.
• Any phone with Android 13 or later, and the list, photos or recording need to arrive with the reminder: TackNote for Android. The whole note is waiting at the place.
• Another Android 13 or later phone, and one line is enough: TackNote for Android works here too, since a note can be a single line. Use the 7-day trial to see if it fits.
• A phone older than Android 13: TackNote will not install. On a Galaxy, try Samsung Reminder.

The places section of the TackNote for Android guide walks through tacking step by step. If your place is a job site or a client's office, recording and transcribing a meeting on Android shows how the recording and transcript end up on the same note.

Common questions

Can Google Keep still remind you at a location?

Not anymore. Google's Keep help page for Android describes reminders by time, date and repeat only, and Android Headlines reported in January 2026 that the option to create location reminders had been removed from Keep.

Does TackNote remind you when you leave a place?

No. TackNote for Android reminds you when you arrive at a place you tacked a note to. Samsung Reminder, on Galaxy phones, can alert you when you leave.

Will a tacked note reach you with the app closed?

Yes, with location set to Allow all the time. With location allowed only while the app is in use, tacked notes reach you while TackNote is open. The Places screen says which one applies.

Does TackNote send your location anywhere?

No. TackNote uses your location to notice when you reach a place you tacked a note to. It stays on the phone and is not sent to us or shared with anyone.

Is TackNote for Android free?

Everything works free for 7 days. After that your notes stay readable, and one payment of $24.99 unlocks TackNote for good. There is no subscription.