How to lock a private note with Face ID on iPhone

To lock a note with Face ID on iPhone, set a Notes password once (Settings, then Apps, Notes, Password, Use Device Passcode, and turn on Face ID), then open the note, tap the More button and tap Lock. After that the note shows only its title until Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode opens it.

That's the short answer, and for most people it's enough. The rest of this article covers the choice Apple asks you to make on the way, the notes that refuse to lock, what a locked note still gives away, and what to do when the private thing is something you also need to be reminded about, which a locked note can't do. I make a reminders app, Notif, so read that last part knowing who wrote it.

Before you start: two things to check

Apple's lock notes article lists two requirements before any of this works:

• The note has to live in iCloud or on your iPhone. Notes that sync from Gmail, Yahoo or another outside account can't be locked. If you're not sure, look at the folder list in Notes: the note needs to be under iCloud or On My iPhone
• A Managed Apple Account can't lock notes. If your iPhone is signed in with an account from work or school, the Lock option won't be there

Face ID also has to be set up on the phone itself, in Settings under Face ID & Passcode. Without it, you can still lock notes, but you'll type a passcode or password every time.

Step 1: choose how your notes lock

The first time you lock a note, Apple asks you to choose between your iPhone passcode and a separate password just for Notes. You can make the choice ahead of time in Settings:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Tap Apps, then tap Notes
3. Tap Password
4. If you have more than one Notes account, tap the one you want, usually iCloud
5. Tap Use Device Passcode, or Use Custom Password and add a hint
6. Turn on Face ID

Here is the difference, from Apple's iPhone User Guide and its support article:

Apple says both options keep locked notes in iCloud protected with end-to-end encryption. The passcode is the one I'd pick for almost everyone. Apple's own guide says it "reduces the chance of losing access to your locked notes," and one less password is one less thing to forget.

A custom password makes sense when other people know your iPhone passcode, a partner or a child who unlocks your phone, because the passcode would open your locked notes for them too. If you go that way, don't lean on Face ID alone. Apple warns that changing your Face ID settings or your Notes password makes you re-enter the Notes password, and if you've forgotten it then, the notes stay locked for good.

Step 2: lock the note

1. Open Notes and go to the note you want to lock
2. Tap the More button (the circle with three dots)
3. Tap Lock

Apple says the note stays open after you lock it, with a lock icon at the top of the screen. Tap the lock icon to hide the contents straight away, or just leave Notes: closing the app or letting the phone sleep locks it again.

To open it later, tap the note, tap View Note and look at the phone. To take the lock off for good, open the note, tap the More button and tap Remove. Apple says removing a lock removes it on every device signed in to the same Apple Account.

What a locked note still shows

A lock protects the body of a note. A few things are still in plain view:

• The title. Apple's guide says "the title remains visible in the notes list" when a note is locked. Notes uses the first line as the title, so a note that starts "Passport number" or "Surprise party for Dad" tells anyone who opens Notes what it's about. Make the first line something boring, like "Notes" or "Misc," and put the real content below it
• Your other locked notes, for a few minutes. Opening one locked note opens all your locked notes in the same account for several minutes, so you can move between them or copy and paste. If you hand someone your phone right after, tap Lock Now at the top of the notes list first
• Anyone who knows the password. With the device passcode option, the passcode opens your locked notes. If someone else knows it, either change your passcode or switch Notes to a custom password

Notes that won't lock

If Lock is missing from the menu, the note is probably one of these. Apple's guide says you can't lock:

• Notes with video, audio, PDF or file attachments
• Notes with tags
• Quick Notes
• Notes shared in iCloud
• Notes that sync with another account, like Gmail or Yahoo
• Notes that use features from a newer version of Notes than one of your devices runs

The fix is usually to move the sensitive part into a fresh, plain-text note in your iCloud or On My iPhone account, and lock that one. For a shared note, Apple's support article says to open it, tap the person's icon or the Add People button, then Manage Shared Note and Stop Sharing.

If you forget your Notes password

This is the part people find out too late. If you used a custom password, forgot it, and Face ID can't open the note, Apple's support article is blunt: Apple "doesn't have access to locked notes and can't help you access them."

You can reset the password in Settings (Apps, Notes, Password, Reset Password, then your Apple Account password), but a reset only applies to notes you lock afterwards. Notes locked under the old password stay locked under it. If you have several old passwords, Notes shows the hint for the right one when you enter the wrong password, which is why the hint is worth writing carefully.

Locking the whole Notes app instead

Locking single notes isn't the only option. On current versions of iOS you can lock most apps behind Face ID. Apple's lock or hide an app guide says information inside a locked app won't appear in other places, including notification previews, search and Siri suggestions.

1. Go to the Home Screen
2. Touch and hold the Notes icon until the menu opens
3. Tap Require Face ID, then confirm

The catches, from the same page: the lock is on that iPhone only and doesn't sync through iCloud; apps that came with the iPhone, like Notes and Reminders, can't be hidden; and children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can't lock apps at all. Locking the app suits someone who hands their phone over a lot. Locking single notes suits someone who wants the shopping list easy to reach and the bank details not.

When the private thing is also a reminder

A locked note keeps something private. It won't remind you of anything. Notes has no due date or alert, so "renew the passport by March" or "call the clinic about the results" sits there until you happen to open it.

Apple Reminders does the reminding, but it has no lock on a single reminder. You can lock the whole Reminders app the same way as Notes, and set notification previews to When Unlocked in Settings, Notifications, Reminders, Show Previews. I go through those settings step by step in private reminders on iPhone.

That gap is why I built private notes into Notif, the reminders app I make for iPhone and iPad. Notif syncs with Apple Reminders, and any note in it can also be marked private. Here is what that means, in the same words the app and the privacy policy use:

• Opening a private note asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
• Private notes are encrypted on your iPhone with AES-256. The key lives in your iCloud Keychain — keep it on, and private notes come with you to a new iPhone.
• A private note is never sent to Notif's server or to any AI.
• A private note stays inside Notif. Marking it private takes it out of Apple Reminders, and it is never written there again.
• A private note's alerts never show its words on your Lock Screen.
• Private notes never show up on your widgets.
• Private notes never show up in iPhone search.

So the passport renewal can have a date and an alert, and the alert itself doesn't read out what it's about. Two honest limits. Marking a note private is part of Notif Pro, which is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, cancel any time; a note already marked private stays private on any plan. And only the notes you mark private work this way: a note that isn't private can be sent, one at a time, to Notif's server and an AI provider to write its Insight, as the privacy policy explains. Like the rest of Notif's data on your iPhone, a private note's encrypted copy is part of your own iPhone backup.

Which one to use

• A password, an account number or a code you look up now and then: a locked note in Apple Notes, with the device passcode and Face ID. Free, already on your phone
• Something people who know your passcode shouldn't open: a locked note with a custom Notes password, written down somewhere safe
• Handing your phone over often: lock the whole Notes app with Require Face ID
• Something private you also need to be reminded about on a date: a private note in a reminders app that locks it, like Notif

If someone is going through your phone to check up on you or control you, your safety comes before any setting here. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is at thehotline.org and 1-800-799-7233, free and confidential.

If you're weighing apps for this, best private reminder apps for iPhone compares seven of them, and encrypted to-do list apps explains what each kind of encryption actually protects. Notif is free on the App Store: get Notif.

Questions

How do I lock a note with Face ID on iPhone?

Open the Settings app, tap Apps, tap Notes, tap Password, choose Use Device Passcode and turn on Face ID. Then open the note in Notes, tap the More button and tap Lock. From then on, opening that note asks for Face ID, Touch ID, your passcode or your Notes password

Should I lock notes with my iPhone passcode or a custom password?

For most people, the device passcode. Apple says it means one less password to remember, which reduces the chance of losing access, and it works with Face ID. A custom password adds a second secret, but if you forget it and Face ID can't open the note, Apple can't help you get it back

Does a locked note hide its title?

No. Apple says the title stays visible in the notes list when a note is locked. Put nothing sensitive in the first line, since Notes uses it as the title

Why can't I lock a note on my iPhone?

Apple lists several notes that can't be locked: notes with video, audio, PDF or file attachments, notes with tags, Quick Notes, notes shared in iCloud, and notes that sync with another account such as Gmail or Yahoo. Managed Apple Accounts can't lock notes either

Can I lock a reminder with Face ID?

Not one reminder on its own. Apple Reminders has no per-reminder lock, but you can lock the whole Reminders app by touching and holding its icon and tapping Require Face ID. In Notif, opening a private note asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode; marking a note private is part of Notif Pro

If I unlock one locked note, are the others unlocked too?

Yes, for a few minutes. Apple says opening one locked note opens all your locked notes in the same account for several minutes. Tap Lock Now at the top of the notes list to lock them again right away