IOS notes are great for recording ideas, saving links, passwords and other important matters on the iPhone and iPad. In order to use them for this purpose, it is important to ensure the security of the application, preventing notes from being accessed by indiscreet eavesdroppers. With that in mind, Apple added in iOS 9.3 the possibility to block annotations with passwords so that only authorized people or the owner of the device can access them. In addition to the password, the system also allows the unlock to be carried out using the fingerprints registered in the Touch ID feature of the iPhone. See how to use the function in the following tutorial.
Important points
Things you need to know if you want to use passwords in your notes:
- Passwords in notes are only available to those using the system starting with iOS 9.3 and macOS El Capitan 10.11.4.
- To use passwords, you need to have updated your notes to iOS 9, as explained here.
- The password is for individual notes and not for general access to the Notes application.
- It is not possible to create different passwords for each note, all of which you create will use the same password.
- You cannot read locked notes on other devices with older versions of the system.
- If you forget your password, you can only view locked notes on devices that have Touch ID.
- The password can be changed whenever you want, in Settings> Notes> Password.
Step by step
Step 1: Open a note and touch the share icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Step 2: Choose the “Lock Note” option.
Step 3: Create a password and set a hint to remember it. As we said, this password will be used for all blocked notes from now on. Then activate the “Touch ID” function (if your device has a fingerprint sensor) and tap “OK” at the top of the screen.
Step 4: To lock or unlock a note, touch the lock icon at the top of the screen.
Step 5: At that time, use your fingerprint or tap “Enter password” to unlock the note.
If you forget your password
If you forget the password you created, you can still unlock notes already saved with Touch ID but you cannot block new ones. In this case, you will need to reset the password to a new one. With that, all passwords blocked after resetting will have the new password. The old ones will continue to have to be unlocked only with Touch ID.
Take advantage of the tip to ensure the privacy of your notes and prevent them from being accessed by unauthorized people.