What users complain about in Notability: AI Notes & Planner

The recent update added a bad auto-fill function and the sensitivity can not be adjusted

Horrible, I can not add any text inside the square anymore, it always automatically fill the whole shape… just let me turn it off svp

Have used this app for years, updates have made me not want to use this app

The latest update, requires a newer version in order for me to be able to sync my notes from my macbook onto my iPad. My notes no longer sync so that I can work from multiple screens at once. In order for me to be able to sync my notes, I have to update the app to a newer version, my current macbook air doesnt support the newest version, so I'd have to buy a completely new laptop. Which I find to be unecessary at this time just to be able to install this app. This app worked perfectly fine before the updates adding Flashcards, and other functions I don't really find necessary.

Holds your Notes Hostage!

Once your storage is full, either in the cloud or your device, Notability starts putting your notes in local memory where you can’t get them in the cloud or your tablet. It’s literally in limbo! I’m sure a Computer Science grad can walk you through the multi day process AI had to explain to me to retrieve these files but I’m not a doctorate in cyber security. I’m an everyday businessmen, in tech no less, that simply needs access to my notes and can’t get to them. I repeat, if you have a large quantity of important notes, don’t get this app unless you keep ICloud Sync off and manually email everything you want saved to yourself, because this app makes your notes inaccessible by keeping them in a state of ETERNAL ‘Still Downloading’ if you have the least bit of storage problems. And that’s on both ends btw. Even in the cloud and drives where they should’ve been stored I either don’t see them or it’s too complicated to access and send them back to the tablet where they’re manageable. In either case, I’d say everything else about the app is sublime, especially the very kind customer service reps who I have to frequent regularly for assistance. But again, if you’re a professional with a lot of notes, or even a few notes that use a lot of storage space, I pray for you.

Do not sign up

After years of paying today they cut me off for basic services like transcription. They don’t tell you how many minutes in the next expensive plan and want you to pay massively more now. Totally unacceptable, no advance notice. A terrible company. Do NOT trust Notability

Okay. Buggy.

I typically use Notability on my iPad, as it is nearly non-functional on my MacBook (the scroll feature disappears within seconds of opening a note, rendering the page essentially frozen). The app on iPad is fine, except for the fact that I’m left-handed and the screen frequently shifts as I write. Very disappointed to hear that a left-handed accessibility feature USED to be available but was discontinued due to “low usage.” We’re only 10% of the global population, guys. Come on.

Unreliable and Lost 10 Years of Notes

I have been using Notability for 10 years. One of their recent updates resulted in the total loss of all of my Notes that had a PDF background - which is virtually all of them (The only way to restore them is on a note-by-note basis - impossible for thousands of notes - and only then with access to the original PDF!). To add salt to the wound, my backup to OneDrive was supposed to save all of my Notes as PDFs, but inexplicably saved about half as “.note” files. Completely useless. Use at your own risk and do not use at all if you care about being to able actually access your notes in the future. I pray Ginger Labs goes bankrupt for this.

This app has become slop…..

This app has seriously gone downhill. Not only have they added ai bloat features and have added attention grabby, flashy and irritating “brain break” mini game garbage, there is also NO WAY TO TURN IT OFF. It is extremely distracting, annoying and ugly to look at. I have used this app since 2018. I am finally looking into alternatives, which is a massive shame because this app used to be the best on the market. Now, they are filling it with unnecessary slop that you CANNOT TURN OFF. It’s truly sad to see.

Years of notes gone

Don't use this app. Countless reviews stating they lost their data. I did. You will too. Update: iCloud syncing returned my notes but ever since they added their own cloud service reliability has been spotty. I've had to wait to have it redownload my notes twice now. Ever since their push to their own less secure servers, the reliability has gone down the drain. I've got to start migrating off while I can.

Loading notes has become such a hassle!

Notes are failing to load regardless if I’m on WiFi or cellular data. It’s happening more and more often. I can’t even access any notes at this time!

Gotten so bad

I hate to say this app has very drastically decreased in quality. I pay $100 and the ai can no longer answer a simple question and takes very long to respond. I've had this app since January and not sure the update that occurred in August but I'm now wasting my money. Switching back to OneNote ASAP

Why can't the app simplify let me write?

Why don't you allow users to turn off the annoying math conversion? In an update a few months ago, this app moved the function of accessing dropbox etc to the premium version that requires new subscription. That's the end of my use of this app. I also stop recommending this app to students. Actually, I now advise them not to use this app.

Poof, gone!

App restarted and literally months of notes were deleted, no where to be found.

iPhone Duo Blank Space!

As nice as it is that this has been updated for the new iOS and iPhone duo, it is very annoying that there’s always the massive right bar on the side. It is totally unusable space with no menus and no utility. It makes the small screen completely useless for notability, and the large one only useful in portrait mode. Please remove this and let the space be usable! Goodnotes does not have this limitation.

Contacting customer support was a nightmare

I love using Notability for studying, but this ordeal was a rollercoaster. One of my notes disappeared. It wasn’t in recently deleted or in unfiled notes, and it was over 60 pages’ worth of work. I went online and followed all the steps to try and recover the note, but nothing was working. There was one option I could not try, which was to search iCloud Drive. There’s no option for me to search iCloud Drive within the app. However, when I searched for the note using my Mac’s Spotlight search, it showed that the file existed, but Notability wouldn’t allow me to open it. I emailed support, and it was an AI bot that couldn’t understand “there’s no option for me to search iCloud Drive,” even though I repeated myself multiple times, submitted images and a screen recording for proof. It responded a whole day later, asking if I found it. No, I did not. Thankfully, my laptop backs up automatically, and I was able to find an older version of the note, but I lost about 6 pages of work. Genuinely so upset.

Used to be good, now it sucks

Endless popups about further upgrading and spending more money. Sucks at syncing across devices. Takes forever to load docs when you open it. Was better before all the AI garbage was added.

Does not work as advertised

I am paying for the subscription. The audio transcriptions and Smart Notes stopped working for all notes. Also, I have the same account signed in to both my desktop and mobile apps, but the notes will note sync to any other devices. I sent an email to support and received no reply.

Lagging

A lot of issues with lag lately. Been using this app for years. Hopefully it gets fixed soon.

Not honest…

When I purchased the app 3 years ago, it was a full version for a lifetime. Now they named my version classic and they don’t give me the new features. That’s dirty. At the beginning they were generous… They could at least give an option to buy new features. I hate subscription will never go that direction. Check Colla app, better, cheaper…

Frustrating for legacy users

I’ve had notability for over a decade, and when notability started to offer the paid model, users from the beginning were told we would not need to upgrade to a paid model. Now, I’m constantly met with screens prompting me to create an online account. I don’t need upgrades; I can backup my data on my own via exporting. I’d just like to open the app and have it work. Do better, notability developers!

Disappointment as a 6 year user

Notability used to be great. I’ve had the paid version since 2020, prior to all these subscription options (which they keep pushing on me every time I open the app). Nowadays this app can’t even load a single note, or will crash halfway through writing one. As a grad student this makes being productive or referencing old powerpoints/notes nearly impossible. I’ve contacted customer service and no solutions were offered. Great way to treat your loyal users! I’m fed up. Wish I would have gotten GoodNotes instead.

Over 6 Years of Use, and Now Even Basic Features Are Broken for the Latest Version

I’ve been using Notability for more than 6 years, and I honestly can’t believe how bad it has become. Ever since updating to the latest version, every time I try to zoom in or out, the app freezes, lags, and randomly jumps back to the first page. This makes even basic note-taking incredibly frustrating. After more than 6 years of using this app, it’s ridiculous that something as basic as zooming and navigating pages doesn’t even work properly anymore. What’s even more disappointing is the customer support. I contacted them about this issue, only to receive what appeared to be a generic AI-generated response instead of any actual help. For an app that people rely on for studying and productivity, this is completely unacceptable. Maybe instead of constantly pushing new AI features, the developers should focus on making sure the basic functions actually work. I’ve supported Notability for over 6 years, but this update has seriously damaged my trust in the app. Long-time users deserve better than this.

So buggy for years

So many small annoying bugs that take ages to get fixed. For example note folder structure not saving.

Tool Bar needs improvement

I like using this app for school, but the toolbar is infuriating. It’s difficult to use the lasso tool, highlighting doesn’t work properly, and what is the text box popping up on the screen when I want to lasso a part of the textbook? I paid a lot of money for the pro, but the tools are bust. The updates are nice, but there should be one big update to fix these issues with the lasso tool and the toolbar in general. Should have an option to move the toolbar to the side as well. Not a fan of the app’s layout either.

Bad experience

Sadly canceled my subscription today after several years of use. I used notability to take notes, mostly handwritten on pdfs, and it was great at it. Now it’s pushing AI nonsense and Google Calendar on me. It’s honestly just not pleasant to use! Sakes alive, what a mess you’ve made!

Cannot crop or edit photos

I've had this app for about a year, and I import a lot of photos from lectures. When I tap the photo and try to click the crop button, it goes away. I have to tap again or restart the app multiple times to get it to work. Forces me to crop my photos on my photos app before importing and is very annoying. Disappointed since I pay yearly for this app and it's gone downhill.

App crashes and deletes notes

I have been a die hard fan of notability since 2022. I’ve never had a problem with this app up until this year. I am constantly writing notes in this app since I am a nursing student, however, the app has been crashing, closes by itself, and deletes my notes. This is extremely frustrating. There is no way I can recover my notes either, it seems as if I just never wrote any new notes. I do have backup on, yet my notes never save. Please fix this issue immediately.

Vibe coded Ai Trash

I have a new iPad and notability is constantly crashing. This recent update is vibe coded garbage.

Poor Customer Support and Unresolved Formatting Issues

I really like Notability, but a recent formatting issue (seemingly introduced sometime over the summer) has been frustrating in my transition to medical school. Text that should have 1.0 line spacing now appears with 1.5 spacing (and can’t go lower), and text shifts vertically when bolding, underlining, or italicizing text within bullet lists. What’s been equally disappointing is the support experience. After twice waiting several days to be referred to a human agent, I received the exact same (verbatim) generic, ineffective response both times, and my ticket was automatically closed each time. This raises concerns about whether my issue was ever genuinely reviewed by a human. I understand the value of AI support, but users should be able to receive meaningful help when automated troubleshooting fails. I hope Notability addresses both this formatting issue and its support escalation process, as I’ve genuinely enjoyed using the app the prior 4 years.

ong goodnotes is so much better

I used notability all of high school because I always thought that good notes was just complicated and yes notability is very much more simplistic but it genuinely sucked and idk why i didn’t switch to goodnotes sooner its made university sm easier than having to use notability in highschool. first of all the eraser feature is so freaking annoying and it’s so badly designed and this app is so freaking touch sensitive. like I slightly brush my hand on the side of the screen and It exits me out of my notes and I have to go through like such lengths to get back to it because it doesn’t have the multiple tab features like Goodnotes does. it’s just that like Goodnotes is cheaper and has so much more features that are so incredibly helpful, This app doesn’t even have a good way of organizing the notes like I promise get goodnotes instead.

App Keeps Crashing

The app keeps crashing, whenever I try to make notes for my classes now. Please fix this!

Not functional

I bought this app because it said that I could take minutes or notes for my meetings and notes from You Tube. However when I try to transcribe it, it says out of transcriptions how can I be out of transcriptions if I only have one so what exactly is unlimited notes because if it's handwritten notes, then this was false advertisement when I brought the app I hate the app app doesn't do like it like it's supposed to. I brought it to me at a meeting and it doesn't do that. I would think twice before I brought it.

Mostly good with some very annoying aspects

Creates pretty good notes. I have the $20/year plan. Started putting my notes in Spanish though and I can’t change it back, so!! Waste of money

Very poor service

Stay away from this app. You will have the wort time connecting your devices. If you ask for help from support, it is always a referral to FAQs

SIX years of undergrad notes gone. High school notes gone.

I didn’t even update the app. The transcriptions recorded would translate to some foreign language. This is insane. We paid the subscription and everything. Gone. I can’t believe this

Customer service takes forever to respond

i accidentally bought the same membership more than once on their website because it kept crashing on me.. when I went to email customer service it took almost a week to get a response asking for details. After I immediately responded they took another week for more details and the finalize a refund for the extra purchases which was annoying.. but whatever. Fast forward the app is telling me that I never bought the membership which is not true because I only got a refund for 2 or the 3 extra purchases. Still waiting on a response for help almost a week later and I can’t even take new notes in the mean time. Y’all need a hotline or something because this is pissin me off

deleted all of my notes!

i’m an engineering student who takes lots of notes on my ipad and i checked and all my notes are gone! i’ve been paying for pro for 2 years now, super disappointed. stick to pen and paper

A ridiculous amount of bugs when using an Apple Pencil.

I am beyond disappointed that I even have to write this review. I have been a loyal Notability user for the past eight years, and I can confidently say that my recent experience with the app has been nothing short of frustrating. For an app that is specifically designed for note-taking and handwriting, it is embarrassing how poorly some of its most basic features function. I recently started using a new Apple Pencil, which works perfectly fine in every other drawing and note-taking app I have tested. Yet, in Notability, it has been an absolute nightmare. Random areas of my screen suddenly become completely unresponsive to my Apple Pencil, making it impossible to write or draw in certain spots. Additionally, the partial erase feature frequently erases entire strokes instead of just the selected portion, completely defeating its purpose. Even something as simple as selecting and moving figures around the page results in excessive glitching, making basic editing tasks unnecessarily difficult. These are not minor inconveniences. These are fundamental features that users rely on every single day. It is ridiculous that after eight years of using this app, I am now struggling to perform tasks that should be effortless. What makes this even more frustrating is that my Apple Pencil functions perfectly in other applications, making it clear that these issues are specific to Notability. For an app that markets itself as a reliable, high-quality note-taking platform, this level of functionality is unacceptable. Users should not have to constantly work around glitches just to take notes, erase handwriting, or move objects across a page. Instead of focusing on adding new features, Notability needs to prioritize fixing the basic tools that its longtime users depend on. After eight years of loyalty, I genuinely expected better. I hope the developers take these complaints seriously and address these issues rather than continuing to overlook problems that make the app increasingly frustrating to use.

Loss of Data, Fixed Nothing, Very Unhappy

So disappointed that this app failed. Erased several medical notes that were digitally handwritten, as well as slides from instructors where i wrote notations atop in a new layer. I used the Notability Pro at $99 plus tax per year and am very frustrated the staff at notability seemed to flake out, do nothing to try to restore lost data, or send AI responses to my repeated requests for account assistance.

Deceiving free tier plan.

The app is alright, but it locks you out after a certain amount of time spent taking notes, and puts you into “read only” mode. This caught me in the middle of my college lecture and there was nothing I could do about it.

Add passwords to login

It’s 2026. This whole “well email you a sign on link” has to be the most annoying part of the app. It wouldn’t be so bad if at every use attempt I didn’t have to sign in. Add a password, 2FA, or even a passkey. The email method takes way too long and is highly annoying