How to lock Apple Notes on Mac

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Is your Apple Notes app filled with mad ramblings, odd lists, or secret plans for world domination? If the answer is yes—or you’ve jotted down something else you’d rather keep confidential—you should consider locking your notes.

Since macOS Mojave, Apple has allowed us to secure our most precious thoughts with a password and, if preferred, Touch ID.

While certain notes can’t be locked, including Quick Notes, shared notes, and notes with tags, standard notes are completely lockable.

Don’t let your thoughts—or your shopping list—fall into the wrong hands. Let’s discuss how to secure your notes on Mac.

How to lock Notes on your Mac

Safeguarding your personal information and sensitive data is crucial in today’s world.

Follow our step-by-step guide to ensure your notes remain private and protected from prying eyes.

You can lock an Apple Note on Mac by following these steps:

Launch Notes

Select the note you want to lock and click the Padlock icon

Click Lock Note

Either select Use Login Password to lock the note with your Mac login or Create Password to create a fresh password

If you choose to use your login password, you’ll need to enter it and press OK when prompted. You can also enable Touch ID if wanted. If, instead, you choose to create a new password, you’ll need to fill in the blanks when prompted and click Set Password

How to unlock your Apple Notes on Mac

To unlock a locked note, you’ll need to select it in the Notes app and enter your chosen password or use Touch ID, depending on how you’ve configured security.

You can change the way you unlock notes at any time by going to Notes → Settings and adjusting preferences in the Locked Notes section.

If you want to remove security on a particular note, you’ll need to select it, unlock it, and click the Padlock icon. From there, you can select Remove Lock to live dangerously and abandon password protection.

When you click the Padlock, you’ll also see the option to Close All Locked Notes, which is handy in an emergency situation when someone is coming for your notes, and you don’t have time to lock them individually.

Locking Apple Notes is just one security step

Really, a locked note should be the last line of defense against someone trying to read your ramblings.

If you’ve secured your Mac with a solid password and don’t leave it unlocked and out in the open, no one should have easy access to your stuff.

With that said, we all get sloppy at times; we let our security lapse, and we leave ourselves open to unwanted note reading.

What would happen if someone read your most private Apple notes? Lock them down so you don’t need to find out.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Matt Moore

Matt is an Australian writer with a degree in creative and critical writing. Prior to commencing his studies, he worked in tech support and gained valuable insights into technology and its users. He is also an editor and author coach at Dean Publishing.