Why I May No Longer Use Notion?
I want to be as transparent as possible with my subscribers and viewers. Therefore, I want to share a problem that I recently ran into while using Notion.
Now, I am not here to bash Notion. On the contrary, I respect Notion and the improvements they are continually making to their platform. The Notion community has continued to grow both on Facebook and Reddit. This community is a great place to go to get advice and help with problems. However, no software is perfect.
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What Happened?
I have been using Notion for the past year, mainly for my video production schedule. I would put in all the videos I wanted to produce and keep track of where they were in the video processing system. This allowed me to easily see where I was in the production cycle. It really can come in handy.
It DISAPPEARED
Then about a month ago, something terrible happened. My database disappeared. It happened right before the last update. I do not know if it was a result of a Windows or Notion update as I did both about the same time. Normally, I use my iMac with Notion but lately I have been using my gaming machine a lot more due to day trading. Now I am not sure if it was a Microsoft Windows 10 problem or a problem with Notion. However, the result was the same. The database was lost. I found the database in the trash on the Notion platform and thought, “YES, IT”s HERE!” Only to find out that part of the file was there and not the whole thing. I got back a very small segment of the fields and nothing with data in it.
Possible update Issue With Notion
I remember that I read somewhere that Notion had an issue with Windows. Apparently, Windows would delete the Notion app after installing updates. I am not sure if this is what happened for not. In fact, I don’t care what happened I just want my data back.
No Storage Control
Most of the apps available today do not let you decide where the data will be stored. Therefore, you must trust that these developers are making backups of your data. Now, when I first started using Notion, I realized that this was a weak link, but I felt confident based on others reviews that my data would be safe.
Notion Keeps 35 days of storage.
Notion only keeps 35 days’ worth of data so by now my data is long gone. I have spent countless hours on the website trying to figure out automatic scheduled backups and stuff but that requires the use of a public API and Zapier integration. Although I could have downloaded the database as a csv file I really did not see the need to do so since Notion kept the backups. WRONG. Don’t make my same mistake.
Impact on Business
Luckily for me the impact it has on my business is nominal. Maybe that is why I did not backup the data in the first place. After all, I can create a new database. I can still login to my YouTube Studio and see the content that was uploaded.
Do I want to recreate the database? Yes, I do. I use it to keep me on track of upcoming videos and where I am in the process. I batch record so I may record 3 or more videos in one sitting. Then I can work on the editing as I have time. I also know if I have written the blog article on the topic, produced the thumbnail and so forth.
Will I continue to Use Notion?
I have not yet decided on whether I will continue using Notion for this database. I have plenty of checklists in Notion so I will continue to use it for the foreseeable future. However, I may also look for a replacement based on the back up capability of Notion.
Moral of the Story
The moral of the story is do not trust that your data is backup just because the developer stores your data on their servers. It was totally my fault. You need to make sure that somehow and somewhere you have backup copies of your data.
Do I blame Notion? Yes, but not as much as I blame myself. Notion does not allow you to backup your data. You can only export it as HTML, Markdown, or CSV.
Feel free to leave me a comment down below. Until next time as always please be safe.
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