Where your ColorNote backup is, and how to get it onto a PC
ColorNote keeps its backups on the phone and lets you send each one from the app. Make a backup, send the .backup file to yourself, then open it on the computer with the password you set. These steps follow ColorNote's own help pages.
1. Make a backup on the phone
- Open ColorNote, open the menu and tap Backup, then the Device tab. You can also get there from Settings, Backup.
- Tap Backup notes. If you use a master password, ColorNote asks for it; the backup is locked with that password.
- The new backup appears in the list on the same screen.
2. Send it to your computer
Tap the backup file in that list and send it to yourself: by email, Google Drive or another app on the phone. ColorNote's help page describes exactly this way of moving a backup to another device. On the computer, download the file from the email or the drive.
Copying with a USB cable instead? Older versions of ColorNote kept backups in a folder named data/colornote/backup on the phone's storage, according to users' reports. Newer Android versions keep an app's files in its own storage, which a cable often cannot see, so sending the file from the app is the reliable way.
3. Check it is the right file
| File | What it is |
|---|---|
| Ends in .backup, for example colornote-20260128.backup | A device backup from a current version of ColorNote. This is the one to open. |
| Ends in .dat or .doc | A backup from an older version of ColorNote. Notelift tries these too. |
| Ends in .zip | A backup that a mail app or cloud drive packed into a ZIP. Notelift opens the backup inside. |
| colornote.db | ColorNote's working database, not a backup. Make a backup in the app instead. |
4. The password
Every ColorNote backup is encrypted. If you never set a master password, ColorNote uses 0000, and Notelift tries it first, so the backup simply opens. If you did set one, type the master password you had when the backup was made.
Forgot it? ColorNote's help says a device backup made with a forgotten master password may not be recoverable, and points to its automatic backups, which do not need the master password unless "Secured auto backup" was turned on. Those open with 0000.
5. Open it
Go to the ColorNote backup viewer, choose the file and, if asked, type the password. The file is opened in your browser on this device: nothing is uploaded.
What a backup holds
| In the backup | In Notelift |
|---|---|
| Text notes, with bold, italic, headings, highlights and links | Shown with their formatting |
| Checklists | Shown with ticked and open boxes |
| Colours, folders, dates and reminders | Shown, and used as filters |
| Archived notes and the trash | Shown in their own lists |
| Notes you locked in ColorNote | Listed by title; their text stays encrypted with your lock |
| App settings and the account you were signed in with | Skipped, never shown or kept |
Sources
- ColorNote help: I changed devices. How can I restore the notes on the new device using device backup? (checked 22 October 2026)
- ColorNote help: I forgot my master password used to back up notes to my device (checked 22 October 2026)
- ColorNote help: Can I read a ColorNote note in other programs? (checked 22 October 2026)
- The file format was checked on real ColorNote backups from January 2026.
Notelift is an independent tool by Peak Apps Studio and is not affiliated with ColorNote or Social & Mobile, Inc.