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How to add Google Now reminders using your desktop browser

Phone not handy? Just type your reminder into a Google search box. Here's how.

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rickbroida
Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
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Google Now reminders can be set in your desktop browser. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Quick! You just remembered something critically important, but your phone is in the other room charging. Do you really have to run and fetch it just so you can add a reminder to Google Now?

You do not. It's actually possible to create a reminder using your desktop Web browser. (This assumes, of course, that you're signed into a Google account and already use Google Now on your phone.) Here's how:

Step one: In any browser, open a new tab and head to Google.com. Alternately, if you use Chrome, you can bypass this step.

Step two: In Google's search field (or Chrome's address bar), type "remind me to" and then the rest of your reminder. So, for example, "Remind me to buy milk," or "Remind me to pick up Sarah from band practice at 3 p.m. tomorrow." (Power tip: Take advantage of voice search instead of typing your reminder.)

Step three: Google will display a reminder confirmation where you can tweak various aspects -- namely date and time or location. Once everything is the way you want it, click "Remind me on Google Now."

And that's it! Now you can quickly add Google Now reminders without even touching your phone. Well, technically you can do that already, at least on Android phones that support hands-free Googling, but with this feature your phone doesn't even need to be in the same room.