diff --git a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/activities/WidgetConfigureActivity.kt b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/activities/WidgetConfigureActivity.kt
index d83663b5..4adbc2df 100644
--- a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/activities/WidgetConfigureActivity.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/activities/WidgetConfigureActivity.kt
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.models.Note
 import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.models.NoteType
 import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.models.Widget
 import kotlinx.android.synthetic.main.widget_config.*
+import kotlinx.serialization.decodeFromString
+import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
 
 class WidgetConfigureActivity : SimpleActivity() {
     private var mBgAlpha = 0f
diff --git a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/ChecklistAdapter.kt b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/ChecklistAdapter.kt
index 8eb5f708..9a05e03a 100644
--- a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/ChecklistAdapter.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/ChecklistAdapter.kt
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import kotlinx.android.synthetic.main.item_checklist.view.*
 import java.util.*
 
 class ChecklistAdapter(
-    activity: BaseSimpleActivity, var items: ArrayList<ChecklistItem>, val listener: ChecklistItemsListener?,
+    activity: BaseSimpleActivity, var items: MutableList<ChecklistItem>, val listener: ChecklistItemsListener?,
     recyclerView: MyRecyclerView, val showIcons: Boolean, itemClick: (Any) -> Unit
 ) :
     MyRecyclerViewAdapter(activity, recyclerView, itemClick), ItemTouchHelperContract {
diff --git a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/WidgetAdapter.kt b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/WidgetAdapter.kt
index e01751e1..3f71fd48 100644
--- a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/WidgetAdapter.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/adapters/WidgetAdapter.kt
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.helpers.*
 import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.models.ChecklistItem
 import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.models.Note
 import com.simplemobiletools.notes.pro.models.NoteType
+import kotlinx.serialization.decodeFromString
+import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
 
 class WidgetAdapter(val context: Context, val intent: Intent) : RemoteViewsService.RemoteViewsFactory {
     private val textIds = arrayOf(
@@ -33,7 +35,7 @@ class WidgetAdapter(val context: Context, val intent: Intent) : RemoteViewsServi
     )
     private var widgetTextColor = DEFAULT_WIDGET_TEXT_COLOR
     private var note: Note? = null
-    private var checklistItems = ArrayList<ChecklistItem>()
+    private var checklistItems = mutableListOf<ChecklistItem>()
 
     override fun getViewAt(position: Int): RemoteViews {
         val noteId = intent.getLongExtra(NOTE_ID, 0L)
@@ -125,8 +127,7 @@ class WidgetAdapter(val context: Context, val intent: Intent) : RemoteViewsServi
         val noteId = intent.getLongExtra(NOTE_ID, 0L)
         note = context.notesDB.getNoteWithId(noteId)
         if (note?.type == NoteType.TYPE_CHECKLIST) {
-            val checklistItemType = object : TypeToken<List<ChecklistItem>>() {}.type
-            checklistItems = Gson().fromJson<ArrayList<ChecklistItem>>(note!!.getNoteStoredValue(context), checklistItemType) ?: ArrayList(1)
+            checklistItems = note!!.getNoteStoredValue(context)?.let { Json.decodeFromString(it) } ?: mutableListOf()
 
             // checklist title can be null only because of the glitch in upgrade to 6.6.0, remove this check in the future
             checklistItems = checklistItems.filter { it.title != null }.toMutableList() as ArrayList<ChecklistItem>
diff --git a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/fragments/ChecklistFragment.kt b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/fragments/ChecklistFragment.kt
index ffd1c840..0f44895a 100644
--- a/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/fragments/ChecklistFragment.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/kotlin/com/simplemobiletools/notes/pro/fragments/ChecklistFragment.kt
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class ChecklistFragment : NoteFragment(), ChecklistItemsListener {
 
     lateinit var view: ViewGroup
 
-    var items = ArrayList<ChecklistItem>()
+    var items = mutableListOf<ChecklistItem>()
 
     override fun onCreateView(inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle?): View? {
         view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_checklist, container, false) as ViewGroup