How to Lock Notes on iPhone [iOS 16]

iPhone Notes is a simple and secure tool for writing down your important information, ideas, or reminders. However, some notes may contain sensitive information that you may want to keep private. In this blog post, I will discuss how to lock notes on iPhone, ensuring your personal information stays safe. Apart from this, I will also discuss related topics like changing passwords, locking apps, and recovering locked notes.

With the iPhone Notes app, you can scribble and attach media. It is possible that some of your students/workers are using the notes to prepare their school/work projects. Especially if some information in the notes app is confidential, it is better to lock it, because these lock notes can keep your personal and work-related information confidential.

What are Lock Notes?

Lock Notes is a feature of the Notes app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices that allows users to protect their notes with a password, Face ID, or Touch ID. This feature exposes sensitive information stored in notes only to authorized users. By using Lock Notes, you can protect your personal data, such as passwords, financial information, or private thoughts, from unauthorized access.

Set Up Password for Notes

Apart from Face ID and Touch ID, there are two options for locking notes in iOS 16.

• Passcode: A short numeric or alphanumeric sequence is used to secure and unlock devices.
• Password: A long, complex string of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) is used to authenticate a user and grant access to accounts or systems.

To set a custom password on your iPhone Notes, follow these steps:

• Open the Settings app on your device.
• Scroll down and tap on “Notes”.
• Tap on “Password”.
• If you haven’t set a password before, you’ll Click on Use Custom Password.

• Enter a strong password in the “New Password” field.
• Re-enter the same password in the “Verify” field to confirm.
• Add a password hint in the “Hint” field to help you remember your password in case you forget it. Be cautious not to make the hint too obvious.
• Toggle on “Use Face ID” or “Use Touch ID” if you want to use biometric authentication to unlock your notes.
• Tap “Done” in the upper-right corner to save your password settings.

Now, you have successfully set a password for your notes. You can start locking individual notes by following the steps above.

How to lock notes on iPhone

There are two approaches to lock notes on iPhone. The first approach allows you to lock a note without opening it, while the second approach requires you to open it before locking it.

Method 1: Lock without opening notes

• On your iPhone, open the Notes app.
• To lock a note, tap and hold the desired note.
• Tap “Lock Note”.

You will now see a lock icon next to the selected note. Although the note may appear unlocked because you just enabled the lock, it will be locked when you reopen the app after closing it from the background. Additionally, you can store passwords on your iPhone for added convenience.

Method 2: Lock after opening notes

• Open the Notes app on your iPhone.
• Open the note you want to lock.
• Tap on the More option (three dots) at the top right corner of the screen.
• Tap on “Lock Note” below.
• If you haven’t set a password before, then set it first.

To unlock a note, simply tap on the locked note and authenticate using your password, Face ID, or Touch ID.

Note: You can also use Face ID or Touch ID to lock notes.

How to Change Notes Password

To change the password for your notes on iPhone, follow these steps:

• Open the Settings app > Notes > Password.
• Select “Change Password”.
• Enter your old password, then create a new one. Confirm the new password and tap “Done”.

Your note password has now been changed. Remember to use this new password when locking or unlocking the Note.

How to Reset Notes Password

To reset the password for your notes on your iPhone, follow these steps:

• To Reset your Notes Password, Go to Settings > Notes > Password.
• Tap “Reset Password”.
• You will be prompted to enter your Apple ID password to confirm the reset.
• Create a new password for your locked notes.
• Now, Click on “OK” to save the change.

How to open Locked iPhone Notes

Now that you know how to lock notes on iPhone, you will need to unlock the locked notes for use. Your locked notes can be unlocked by following these steps,

• Open Notes.
• Click on the locked note that you want to open.
• Tap on View Note.
• Enter the note Passcode or Password.

How to Remove Lock from Note

There are two methods to Remove the notes lock on iPhone.

Method 1: Remove the lock without opening the notes

• Open the Notes app.
• To unlock a note, tap and hold it.
• Click on Remove Lock.
• Please Enter your passcode/password.

Method 2: Remove the lock after opening the notes

• Open the Notes app.
• To unlock a note, Tap on three dots at the top right corner.
• Click on Remove.
• Please Enter your passcode/password

How to Recover Locked Notes on iPhone

If you’ve accidentally deleted a locked note or want to access an old note, you can recover it from a recent backup:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Tap on your name at the top, then select “iCloud”.
• Scroll down and tap on “iCloud Backup”.
• Check the date of your last backup. If it’s recent enough, you can restore your iPhone from the backup to recover the locked note.

Conclusion

Locking Notes on your iPhone is a must to protect your sensitive information. With this comprehensive guide, you can learn how to lock notes on iPhone, change or reset passwords, recover locked notes, and adjust notification settings for added privacy. By following these steps, you can ensure that your personal notes are secure and accessible only to you.

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