How to Lock or Unlock Notes on iPhone 17 and Earlier

The built-in Notes app on your iPhone provides a convenient place to store sensitive information, such as medical records, financial details, and other personal data. To ensure that only you can access your important notes, Apple offers two ways to protect them: locking individual notes with a password, Face ID, or Touch ID, and restricting access to the entire Notes app using Screen Time. Below, we'll show you how to use both methods in detail.

How to Lock Notes on iPhone

Although Apple provides built-in note encryption, there are a few requirements you need to meet before you can use it. In addition, the steps for locking notes vary depending on the version of iOS your iPhone is running.

Requirements

• The notes should be stored in iCloud or On My iPhone.
• Enable iCloud Keychain if using the device passcode(for iOS 16 and later).
• The note must not be shared, synced with third-party accounts or contain unsupported attachments(PDF, audio, video, Keynote, Pages, Numbers or Quick Notes).
• Managed Apple Accounts do not support locked notes.

Lock a Note on iOS 16 and Later

Starting with iOS 16, you can use your iPhone passcode to lock notes. In earlier versions of iOS, however, you can only protect notes with a custom password.

Step 1. Open the Notes app on your iPhone and open the note you want to lock.

Step 2. Tap the More button in the upper-right corner.

Step 3. Select Lock from the menu.

Step 4. Follow the prompts to create a password or choose to use your iPhone passcode.

• To use your device passcode: Choose Use iPhone Passcode and enter it. Then enable Face ID if needed.



• To create a custom password: Select Create Password, tap Continue and create a password.

Step 5. Tap the Open Lock icon at the top of the screen to lock the note immediately.

Lock a Note on iOS 16 Earlier

You can lock your notes in the Notes app from different places. Below are the two most common methods.

Option 1: In the Settings Menu

Step 1. Start the Notes app by going to the Settings menu on the homepage.

Step 2. To input any characters of your choice into the password space, tap the Password button.

Important: When entering the passcode, you must do it twice. In addition, if you are prone to forgetting things, we recommend setting up a hint for your Password so that you are not forced to change it after you have failed it repeatedly.

Step 3. Activating Face ID or Touch ID will make unlocking your device and accessing its notes easier.

Option 2: In the Notes App

Step 1. Proceed to the Notes app and choose a note from the list of available notes.

Step 2. Choose Lock Note from the pop-up menu after clicking the Share button.

Step 3. After that, provide the Password for each message and decide whether or not to utilize Face ID or Touch ID for faster unlock.

Lock Notes Again After Unlocking

You can relock a note in any of the following ways:

• Tap the Open Lock icon at the top of the note.
• Return to the notes list, then tap Lock Now at the top of the screen.
• Exit the Notes app. The note will lock automatically after a short period of inactivity.
• Lock your iPhone to encrypt all unlocked notes immediately.

How to Unlock Notes on iPhone

Unlocking a locked note on your iPhone is quick and easy. Just follow the steps below.

Step 1. Open the Notes app and tap the locked note.

Step 2. Tap View Note.

Step 3. Unlock the note using your password, iPhone passcode (on iOS 16 or later), Face ID or Touch ID.

How to Unlock Notes on iPhone When Forgot Password

Unfortunately, if you forget your Notes password, you won't be able to unlock your existing locked notes. However, you can reset your Notes password to lock any new notes you create in the future.

Step 1. Open the Settings app. Then go to Apps > Notes > Password.

Step 2. Select the Notes account whose password you want to reset, then tap Reset Password.

Step 3. Enter your Apple ID password and tap OK to verify your identity. Tap Reset Password again to confirm.

Step 4. Choose to use your iPhone passcode or create a new password with an optional hint. Finally, tap Done to save your changes.

How to Lock Notes App on iPhone

If your iPhone is running iOS 18 or later, you can lock the entire Notes app instead of locking individual notes or combine both methods for an extra layer of privacy. This way, no one can open the app and view any of your notes without first authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode.

Step 1. Go to your iPhone's Home Screen and find the Notes app.

Step 2. Touch and hold the Notes app icon until the quick actions menu appears.

Step 3. Tap Require Face ID.

Step 4. Authenticate with Face ID to confirm.

How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone

If you accidentally deleted a note, you can usually recover it from the Recently Deleted folder within 30 days. But what if you've already emptied the folder or the 30-day recovery period has expired? In that case, you can try Eassiy iPhone Data Recovery to recover your lost notes. Simply connect your iPhone to your computer and launch Eassiy. The software will perform a deep scan of your device to search for deleted notes and other recoverable data. Before restoring, you can preview the scan results to quickly find the notes you want to recover.

• It can back up the data currently on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod, as well as any other things that got deleted.
• Eassiy synchronizes your Messages, contacts, photographs, music, videos, Safari history, bookmarks, call logs, and other content to your computer, whether a Mac or a PC.
• It allows you to examine and retrieve information from your iCloud backup on your local computer.
• This software allows you to examine and restore files from your iTunes Library onto your computer.
• Compatible with devices such as the iPhone 17, iPhone 16, iPhone 15, etc.
• Using this app, you can effortlessly retrieve notes that got erased from your iPhone or any other iOS device.

Conclusion

Now you know how to lock your notes and keep your private information secure. If you ever need to recover deleted notes, you can try Eassiy iPhone Data Recovery. It performs a deep scan of your iPhone and recover deleted notes with a success rate of up to 99%.

Emil Herz

Edited by

With over a decade of experience in tech writing, He enjoys researching the latest software and electronics to resolve and share solutions for iOS, Android, and computer users.