Android 16 Developer Preview 2 makes Google Keep a system app you can’t uninstall

Google Keep, the company’s free note-taking app, has been promoted to a system app on Android 16 Developer Preview 2, meaning it cannot be uninstalled by normal means. This move signals that Keep might play a bigger role in Android 16 with more powerful features.

System apps are apps that come pre-installed with the OS to perform essential functions on a device. These apps include key services like settings, messaging, calling, system management, and more. Users can only uninstall system apps by rooting their devices (gaining superuser access), but these apps can be disabled to free up storage or reduce background processes.

If you’re on Android 15 or an older version, you’ll notice that Google Keep isn’t a system app and can be easily uninstalled with the usual methods. However, with Android 16 Developer Preview 2, Keep is graduating to become a core app, moving to a protected system partition from where it cannot be removed without root access.

The only reason we think Keep is becoming a system app is that Google might be planning to grant it deeper system access and functionality, allowing it to perform some critical tasks or integrate with other core Android features.

It’s also possible Google is making the change in preparation for an upcoming lock screen note-taking feature. We previously previewed this feature and expected it to debut with Android 15, yet the Keep lock screen shortcut is still unavailable on Android.