Review Insights · Google Play
Inkpad Notepad & To do list
Workpail · 251,567 ratings · ★ 4.6
4.6
★★★★★
251,567 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 51 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"years"
15 negative reviews mention this · 29% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I've used this app for many years and it used to be so incredible. Now the ads are too invasive and I'm looking for a replacement. The no-ad price is ridiculous at $60 to $150 per year!!" - Mark Tischendorf
2
"screen"
15 negative reviews mention this · 29% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Handy to make lists on anything and keep track of things, use it everyday, dropped stars as now only have half a screen, top half is ads , they used to be a lot smaller before" - Lynsey Williamson
3
"notes"
14 negative reviews mention this · 27% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I've loved this app for 15 years. I gave it a 5 star review 6 years ago, and even mentioned I'd happily pay a $20 pro upgrade, but would never resort to a recurring charge. My faithful old version is now rejected by the google installer on …" - 1SqueakyWheel
4
"feed"
12 negative reviews mention this · 24% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It used to be a simple notepad app and as such was worth five stars. Now it's bloated, forcing a 'For you feed' and constant AI options on me, screaming at me with a large banner unless i pay a premium of five quid a month. Not happening." - C R
5
"half"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Handy to make lists on anything and keep track of things, use it everyday, dropped stars as now only have half a screen, top half is ads , they used to be a lot smaller before" - Lynsey Williamson
6
"half screen"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
7
"been"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I've always found the app immensely useful and wonderfully lightweight. However, I recently discovered that it has been using a rapidly escalating amount of mobile data per month. 166mb, 335mb, then 459mb last month! I don't create/mod anyw…" - Peter Choy
8
"simple"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It used to be a simple notepad app and as such was worth five stars. Now it's bloated, forcing a 'For you feed' and constant AI options on me, screaming at me with a large banner unless i pay a premium of five quid a month. Not happening." - C R
9
"notepad"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It used to be a simple notepad app and as such was worth five stars. Now it's bloated, forcing a 'For you feed' and constant AI options on me, screaming at me with a large banner unless i pay a premium of five quid a month. Not happening." - C R
10
"stars"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It used to be a simple notepad app and as such was worth five stars. Now it's bloated, forcing a 'For you feed' and constant AI options on me, screaming at me with a large banner unless i pay a premium of five quid a month. Not happening." - C R
11
"garbage"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I've loved this app for 15 years. I gave it a 5 star review 6 years ago, and even mentioned I'd happily pay a $20 pro upgrade, but would never resort to a recurring charge. My faithful old version is now rejected by the google installer on …" - 1SqueakyWheel
12
"without"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I've loved this app for 15 years. I gave it a 5 star review 6 years ago, and even mentioned I'd happily pay a $20 pro upgrade, but would never resort to a recurring charge. My faithful old version is now rejected by the google installer on …" - 1SqueakyWheel
📋 All 51 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Had this app since 2013, now with large, obnoxious ads and unecessary AI. Do not get this app. How can they monetize a simple application with basic synchronization? I'll just make my own now, jeez
I've loved this app for 15 years. I gave it a 5 star review 6 years ago, and even mentioned I'd happily pay a $20 pro upgrade, but would never resort to a recurring charge. My faithful old version is now rejected by the google installer on new phones though, forcing me to update to current garbage. And that previously useful little ad-banner now takes half a screen, and I've now got AI sifting through my past notes and renaming them without my input?? Just no. Notepad is now dead to me.
Another edited review. $60 yearly is outrageously expensive to not see 80% of my screen covered with ads. Oh that's because you just had to shoehorn stupid AI into this? Who asked for that? Your app has become literally unusable, so I'm not coming back, ever. I can get a good ol' leather-bound Moleskine (which will last me more than a year) for a fraction of the $60 (and it comes without a deluge of ads, not to mention no AI is reading my notes). Goodbye!
edit: I tried but with the tracking and the ai and the advertising on top of advertising on top of advertising I'm done. you failed. completely ruined a good app. I assume you bought it recently. I need you to know how terrible an idea "watch and ad to get rid of ads for 2 hours" actually is. wow. I've used this app for years but they just ruined it. A big dumb "feed" of stuff I do not want to see and a demand that I buy the premium version to even resize it.
App has gotten worse since ai was added
it's been stuck can't sync for 2 months now same thing syncing then error
the adverts have taken over the screen. before they were irritating now they are VERY annoying. and I'm not paying $60 a year. A one off fee would have been more appropriate.
I've had to edit my review. What once was 5 stars is now a 1. It used to be fast, clean, and simple: perfect for a quick notes app. Now, it's cluttered with huge ads, buttons trying to get me to use ai, and limited number of syncs. I used to like the app enough to buy it, but there's no option to pay one, reasonable price, the cheapest option is $60 PER YEAR. I'm going to migrate my notes and uninstall. tl;dr Free version is borderline unusable, and paid version is ridiculously expensive
This app ruined all my notes. I have used it for YEARS to take notes and tasks at work. Today, I opened the app and discovered that all my notes and tasks had changed. Many were gone completely! The few that were still there were all generically worded and completely unhelpful. I had written measurements I needed to use and lots of details. ALL GONE! The only thing I can figure is that the stupid AI feature must have rewritten all my notes amd tasks! And I can't revert to the old version! DONE!
Update to their response: I understand the need for ads. This app has had ads for years and they've never been a problem for me. Now, they're just obnoxiously large and interfere with easy usage of the app (probably to pay for AI integration nobody asked for). Also, the app (or AI?) is now reading through my notes to figure out what to advertise to me? Creepy. Just creepy. You've lost a years-long user. I'm currently working on moving my notes to something else and then I'm uninstalling.
Im wondering if you could make the ads bigger so that I don't want to use this app anymore... Oh,wait,you already did. this app was great until the developers got ad-happy. Now it's about as enjoyable as having to dig in the garbage to find something.
Used to be a simple and reliable app. The more new features they add, the more frustrating it is to use. The last straw was the giant "For You" feed that takes up half the screen, which by default shows articles and AI "insights" customized based on the content of your notes. When I opened up the app and saw AI commentary based on my personal notes, I knew I couldn't keep using this app. This can be turned off, but I can't trust that my notes are private. Thankfully, the data can be exported.
Starts at the top of the document, not where you left off.
update: ads now take up half the screen. uninstalled. I'm so sad! but it's unusable. (previous review, 5 stars: Best list app! I've used it daily for years. Can't live without it!)
NO MORE ADS THANK VERY MUCH PLEASE 😠😡🤬
Iv'e used this app for years but now ads take up half the screen and it shoves AI garbage down your throat. Unistalled.
Too many ads that are slow to load and take up half the screen. copy and paste very slow.
This used to be the best not taking app ever. Recently sync continuously fails. I've tried multiple Wi-Fis and Verizon connection. it will not sync. the shop is up to date.
Good for notes. Let's you upload all your notes online and redownload them on a new phone. Also gives you three tags you can use to sort your notes into groups. Has some problems. Banner ads can play sound and notes occasionally become blank for no discernable reason. EDIT 3/2026 The monetization on this app is disgraceful and greedy. It now majorly detracts from the quality of the app, and the incredibly greedy developers want you to pay 12 dollars to disable ads. MONTHLY! For text documents!
I've used this app for over 10 years. it used to be one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it has gone the way of pay-to-play slop apps. The ads at the top are larger and intrusive, forcing a data-mining AI bot into an app that didn't need it at all, and now adding a giant eyesore of a "For You" feed that you can't remove OR resize this recent addition without a Premium plan. I'm at my wit's end with the "infinite micro-transactions" approach. Sad to say that I'll be migrating my notes elsewhere.
Had this app for years and suddenly it's basically become a news feed app you can tack a few notes to at the bottom of the screen 😂. My solution to this, and it works, I uninstalled the app and reinstalled the 6.3.52 version from October 25, 2025 from the UPToDown app store. It's an app store that has older versions of all your favorite android and apple apps. they're all archived. I also made sure to disable auto update so that the app won't update. And you're welcome! !🙂↔️
I don't know what they have done in regard to recent updates. I've been a customer since 2013 and now the sync function is askew. I can't access my mobile adjustment on my desktop since every sync attempt "sync failed". Unfortunate, this was to be a very useful app. Along with all the ads and new social media style unnecessary news feed that slows down the app. They need to make adjustments.
i've been using this app for over 10 years it's been my go-to app until now... this is the worse update i've seen. I just opened it and they added a "for you" feed with ads and news articles that takes up 1/3 of the top of your screen. If you want to make it any smaller than that or if you want it to be hidden you have to pay for premium. Who asked for this??? it's a notes app not a social media app. why force this onto people's personal notes app???? they seem money hungry.
It's a great app technically, HOWEVER... It runs ads on screen constantly, and it's not available for purchase. It's only offered as a subscription service if you want to eliminate the ads on the app. Instantly lowered to 1 star.
why so many adds now
after using this app for over 7 years the update has lost all of my notes. I want a simple note pad not a bloated ai generator, the for you feed is useless and has nothing to do with being an actual notepad. uninstalling and looking for a new notepad
I've used this for over a decade. Ads are now too intrusive and play sound without a way to silence. I'll be moving on
Please add an option in the settings to disable the AI assistant. I'm not interested in being prompted to use it every time I open the app. If it's not remedied soon, I'll just uninstall and find another option. edit: and now this "notepad" has a news feed? for what?! I swear you're just adding useless features in order for people to pay for the upgrade, just so they can get rid of this nonsense. It's definitely time to look for a new app. this app deserves 0 stars.
Used it for 10+ years and it used to be a great app until they filled it with ads and garbage. Instant uninstall and I've switched to a different notepad app. Just need a simple text editor, not a news carousel and ads
As others are saying, the size of the ads make this app unusable.
you have ruined this app by putting mindless distracting garbage on it. where is the original ink pad that I paid for?
Used to be a good app. Now with 30% of screen with a news feed. Must subscribe to resize or hide. It is just a note taking tool. That's all I ever wanted. Was using for years. Now Moving on.
Carousel takes up more than half the screen and can't be changed unless premium. App has become so much garbage. Giant for you feed needed to keep the app free? What a joke. Disgusting greed.
You ruined a great app, with the wide banner of ads
Enshitification complete. Ads are now massive and at the top of the Notes List. Removing Ads is only through a massively overpriced subscription with no lifetime option. Sad to leave after years of use.
whats with the feed? 5 stars down to 1 Like others have mentioned I'm also a long term user of this app and have carried it over from phone to phone. Now having this large feed at the top (which I'm told i can get rid off I give money) strikes of greed and is such a shame that a great little app has decided to go down this route. I too will be leaving and finding a much easier interface without all this forced upon nonsense
Greed tanks another app. I've used this app for over a decade and will switch immediately. Nobody likes AI! Such a stupid error, and so late to the party that you've had plenty of time to see other companies get clapback about AI and avoid the same mistake. The "smart" titles feel absolutely creepy and invasive, the ads are HUGE, and you've got to be out of your mind if you think a freaking notepad is worth $60 a year. You've pissed off all your loyal users. Have fun starting from scratch.
It used to be a simple notepad app and as such was worth five stars. Now it's bloated, forcing a 'For you feed' and constant AI options on me, screaming at me with a large banner unless i pay a premium of five quid a month. Not happening.
I've used this app for many years and it used to be so incredible. Now the ads are too invasive and I'm looking for a replacement. The no-ad price is ridiculous at $60 to $150 per year!!
Handy to make lists on anything and keep track of things, use it everyday, dropped stars as now only have half a screen, top half is ads , they used to be a lot smaller before
I've always found the app immensely useful and wonderfully lightweight. However, I recently discovered that it has been using a rapidly escalating amount of mobile data per month. 166mb, 335mb, then 459mb last month! I don't create/mod anywhere near this much data with my note taking... I can only attribute it to ad activity, which I noticed have shifted from static to streaming videos. I don't mind supporting through ads, but 40s streamed ads might be untenable for me long term.
freezed
Easy to use ,keeps everything in one spot.Sept 2015 March 2026 Can no longer sign into app on laptop. Have no idea why. Android seems OK which means the info is onlyn stored as long as the phone is viable
Been using since 2015 and has never let me down. Just a really good simple note taking app. 2026 EDIT: Recently unable to access through my browser and support is unresponsive. Will be cancelling my subscription until it is resolved. Would hate to have to find an alternative.
limited syncs wtaf, you synch every time you go into and out of a note so you blow through the limited synchs in an couple of minutes. As for the "pro" version, no sane person is going to pay monthly to rent a damed text editor!!!
Used to love this app and now it is ruined with huge banners of ads. Currently looking for a new app to replace it. Very disappointing to see such a good app flooded with poor reviews and inevitably end up obsolete because they spammed their users with ads and ai garbage, forcing users large fees just to remove them.
I'm so disappointed I paid for this for the last 13 years, a very good app, and suddenly, they've got advertisements all over it. now I've got to take all of this stuff off their app so I don't have to look at these ads every time I want to see something on my notes. very disappointed! used to be Best note and checklist app . Use it for shipping lists. Syncs to the web so you can renew and share and print
I loved the simplicity of this app for notes and checklists until the banner ads grew to take up half the screen.
I've been using Inkpan Notepad since 2016. Great app. But the fact that they've added an ai bot makes that null imo.
The only thing keeping it from 5 stars is this annoying issue that's been complained about in reviews for several months where, when we delete a list (especially those without titles), it just sends it to the top until we delete it again. It doesn't s happen all the time, but at least 70% of the time. Also, recently, some ads are taking up half the screen which makes an app for lists particularly inefficient🤦♀️
+ 1 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
90%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
8%
Negative (1-2★)
