In Apple Books, select text to highlight or annotate it, then use the book’s highlights list to revisit it. On iPhone and iPad, touch and hold a word; on Mac, select text and Control-click. To carry annotations between devices, use the same Apple Account and enable the relevant iCloud and Books settings.
How to highlight text in Apple Books on iPhone or iPad
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Open the book and touch and hold a word in the passage.
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Move the selection handles to cover the text you want.
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Tap Highlight. To change the highlight color or use an underline instead, tap the marked text and tap Highlight again, then choose an option.
The same text-selection flow offers Add Note when you want to attach a comment to a passage.
How to add or edit a note
iPhone and iPad
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Select the passage by touching and holding a word, then adjust the handles.
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Tap Add Note, enter your note, and tap Done.
Mac
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In Books, open the book and select the text.
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Control-click the selection and choose Add Note.
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To revise it later, select the annotated text, Control-click, choose Edit Note, make the change, and confirm.
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How to find saved highlights and notes
iPhone
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Tap the page to show the reading controls.
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Open Menu, then choose Bookmarks & Highlights and Highlights.
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Tap an entry to jump to that passage.
iPad
Open the book’s annotations list using the on-screen reading controls, then choose a highlight or note to return to its location. The exact control labels can vary by installed system version.
Mac
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Move the pointer to the top of the page to reveal the toolbar.
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Click the Highlights toolbar button.
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Select an entry to jump to it in the book.
How to share or remove annotations
Share from iPhone or iPad
To share one annotation, tap its highlight or note, tap the Forward control, and choose Share. To share more than one, use the checklist in Bookmarks & Highlights, select the items, and choose Share.
Remove a highlight or note
On iPhone, tap a note and choose Remove Note to delete only the note, or Remove Highlight & Note to remove both. On iPad, the guide also provides Remove Highlight for a highlight; use the available removal choice for the note from its highlighted text. On Mac, Control-click the annotated text and choose Remove; Books prompts you to choose whether to remove the note alone or the highlight and note.
How to sync highlights and notes between iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Use the same Apple Account on each device, then enable iCloud Drive and Books. The Settings labels depend on the operating-system generation.
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| Device and system | Settings to check |
|---|---|
| iPhone or iPad with iOS/iPadOS 18 or later | Settings > [your name] > iCloud: enable iCloud Drive and Books. Then go to Settings > Apps > Books and enable Home and iCloud Drive. |
| iPhone or iPad on an earlier system | Settings > [your name] > iCloud: enable iCloud Drive and Books. Then go to Settings > Books and enable Reading Now and iCloud Drive. |
| Mac | Enable Books under iCloud Drive. In Books settings, enable Reading Now and Collections, bookmarks and highlights. |
If highlights or notes are not appearing on another device
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Confirm that both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account.
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Check that the devices are updated and iCloud has enough available storage.
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Verify iCloud Drive, Books, and the Books-specific sync options are enabled for that device’s system version.
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Check whether the book or file needs to be downloaded, or whether it has been hidden.
Book support and sharing limits
Apple cautions that “Highlighting and notes might not be available for all book types.” Its general guidance does not provide a format-by-format or title-by-title compatibility list, so annotation support should be checked in the particular book rather than assumed. Apple’s iPhone and iPad instructions document sharing annotations; its Mac guidance covers viewing, editing, and removal but does not establish a current Mac sharing procedure.
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