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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteYou can lock eligible Apple Notes with a custom Notes password or with the passcode or login password of the device you are using, and Face ID or Touch ID can unlock them for convenience. If you still know the current password, changing it updates every note locked with it. If you have forgotten a custom Notes password, you can reset it, but the reset only applies to notes locked after the reset. Notes still locked with the old password stay locked, and Apple says it cannot regain access to them.
What you need before you lock a note
Not every note can be locked. Before you start, confirm that your device and the note meet Apple’s requirements:
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- Operating system: Notes locked with a device passcode require iOS 16, iPadOS 16, or macOS 13 or later to open.
- iCloud Keychain: On iPhone and iPad, Apple’s guidance requires iCloud Keychain for the device-passcode method. For iCloud notes on Mac that use the Mac login password, Apple also specifies two-factor authentication and iCloud Keychain.
- Account type: Each Notes account can have its own locking method or custom password, so the account a note belongs to determines which settings apply.
Lock a note on iPhone or iPad
Set up the locking method once for each Notes account, then lock individual notes.
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- Open Settings > Apps > Notes > Password.
- If you have more than one Notes account, select the account you want to configure.
- Choose Use Device Passcode to use the passcode of this device, or Use Custom Password to create a separate Notes password, and follow the prompts.
- Open the note you want to protect in the Notes app and tap its note-actions control.
- Tap Lock.
A note that is ineligible for locking will not show the Lock option. The limits are listed below.
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Lock a note on Mac
- Open Notes and choose Notes > Settings.
- For the account you want to use, choose the locking method: your Mac login password or a custom password.
- If your Mac supports it and you want it, select Touch ID.
- Select the note, then use the Lock Note control.
Choose a locking method
The three options differ in what you must remember and where the note can be opened. The table compares them using Apple’s guidance.
| Option | What you use to unlock | Trade-off or requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Notes password | A separate password you set for the account | Works across devices signed into the same Apple Account. If you forget it, old locked notes stay locked after a reset. |
| Device passcode (iPhone, iPad) or Mac login password (Mac) | The passcode of each device, or the Mac login password | Avoids a separate password, but each device uses its own passcode. Requires the supported OS versions and iCloud Keychain as described above. Notes locked this way cannot be viewed on iCloud.com. |
| Face ID or Touch ID | Biometrics, as a convenience on top of a password or passcode | Must be configured on the device. Apple advises against treating biometrics as the only way to access locked notes. |
Biometrics need a fallback. Changes to biometric settings, or a password change, can require you to enter the Notes password again. Keep the password or passcode for each locked note somewhere you can reach it.
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- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
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Change a password you still know
Changing the password is the safe route when you remember the current one. Apple says a successful change updates all locked notes in that account to the new password.
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- Open Settings > Apps > Notes > Password.
- Select the Notes account.
- Tap Change Password and follow the prompts.
On Mac
- Open Notes and choose Notes > Settings > Change Password.
- Enter the current password and then the new one.
Reset a forgotten custom password
A reset is not password recovery. It sets a new custom password for future locking, and it does not reveal or replace the password on notes that were already locked. Make this distinction before you reset.
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- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
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Reset on iPhone or iPad
- Open Settings > Apps > Notes > Password.
- Select the Notes account.
- Tap Reset Password.
- When asked, authenticate with your Apple Account password, then complete the reset.
Reset on Mac
- Open Notes and choose Notes > Settings > Reset Password.
- Confirm the reset.
- If the account requires it, authenticate with iCloud.
What a reset cannot do
- Old locked notes stay locked. Apple warns that the new password applies to notes locked after the reset. Notes locked earlier keep their old password.
- Apple cannot restore access. Apple says it cannot help regain access to notes locked with a password you have forgotten.
- Multiple old passwords need each one. If you locked notes with several different passwords over time, each note still requires the password that was used to lock it.
- A remembered older password can still open notes. If you recall an earlier password, entering it can open the notes it protects. Apple’s Mac guidance says you can then update the note to the current password.
Apple’s guidance does not support third-party recovery tools or hardware for forgotten locked-note passwords. Treat any tool that promises to bypass a note password as unsupported by Apple.
Where locking is not available
Apple says the following cannot be locked:
- Shared notes
- Quick Notes
- Notes with tags
- Notes synced through IMAP accounts such as Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail
- Notes with certain attachments
The attachment exclusions are not identical across platforms. Apple’s iPhone and iPad article names PDFs, audio, video, and certain document types. Apple’s Mac guide also calls out documents and describes supported content differently. Check the guide for your device rather than assuming a note with a particular attachment will lock the same way on every system.
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- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
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- FAST WI-FI CONNECTIVITY — Wi-Fi 6 gives you fast access to your files, uploads, and downloads, and lets you seamlessly stream your favorite shows.
Using locked notes across devices and iCloud.com
A custom password works on every device signed into the same Apple Account. A device passcode or Mac login password does not carry over: each device unlocks notes with its own passcode.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsOn iCloud.com, you can open notes locked with a custom password after signing in with the same Apple Account and entering the Notes password. Notes locked with a device passcode or Mac login password cannot be viewed there. To add or remove a lock, or to change or reset a password, use Notes on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
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How the protection works
Apple describes secure notes as end-to-end encrypted. Its security guide says a 16-byte key is derived from the passphrase using PBKDF2 with SHA-256, and that note content and attachments are encrypted with AES-GCM. These details describe how the notes are protected. They do not provide a way around a forgotten password: Apple’s support guidance says locked notes remain inaccessible without their password or a supported unlock method.
Sources
The steps and limits above come from the following Apple Support articles, accessed on 7 October 2026. Apple revises these pages without always showing a date, so menu labels may change in later versions of the software.
- Apple Support, “How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad.”
- Apple Support, “Lock your notes on iPhone.”
- Apple Support, “Lock your notes on Mac.”
- Apple Support, “Secure features in the Notes app.”
- Apple Support, “View notes and locked notes on iCloud.com.”
- Apple Support, “Change your password for locked notes.”
Apple’s pages do not publish a population statistic or a named study on this topic, so none is cited here.
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The steps above for iPhone and iPad are from Apple’s support articles. Apple’s guidance uses these menu labels, and your device may show slightly different wording depending on its software version.
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