Change your Notes password through Settings on iPhone or iPad

On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, then scroll down and tap Notes. Tap Password, then tap Change Password. Enter your current password, then type your new password twice to confirm it. Tap Done when finished.

If you have never set a Notes password before, you will see Set Password instead of Change Password. The process is the same — enter a password, confirm it, and tap Done. Your Notes app will ask you to unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode each time you open it.

If you forget your Notes password, you cannot recover it through Apple. You will need to turn off password protection entirely by going back to Settings > Notes > Password and tapping Turn Off Password, which requires your current password. After that, you can set a new one.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to Settings > Notes > Password > Change Password and enter your current password followed by your new password twice.
  • Your new password takes effect when ready, and you will be prompted to unlock Notes with biometric authentication or your device passcode each time you open the app.
  • If you forget your password, you must turn off password protection first (which requires knowing the old password) before you can set a new one.
  • On Mac, the process is similar: open System Settings > Notes, click Password, and follow the same steps to change or set a password.
  • Notes passwords are separate from your Apple ID password and do not sync across devices — each device has its own Notes password.

Change your Notes password on a Mac

On a Mac, open System Settings and click Notes in the sidebar. Click Password, then click Change Password. Type your current password, then enter your new password twice and click Done.

The Mac version works the same way as iPhone and iPad. If you have never set a Notes password on your Mac, you will see Set Password instead. Your Mac will ask you to authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac password each time you open Notes after the password is set.

What happens after you change your password

Once you change your Notes password, the app locks when ready. The next time you open Notes, you will be asked to unlock it using Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode — whichever authentication method your device supports. You will not be asked to type the password itself; the app uses your device's built-in security instead.

All your existing notes remain encrypted with the new password. You do not need to re-enter notes or move them to a different folder. The change applies only to the device where you made it — if you use Notes on multiple devices, each one has its own separate password.

Notes passwords do not sync between devices

Your Notes password is stored only on the device where you set it. If you change the password on your iPhone, your iPad and Mac will not automatically update. You will need to change the password separately on each device you use.

This also means that if you set a password on your iPhone but not on your iPad, your notes will be unprotected on the iPad even though they are locked on the iPhone. If you want the same level of protection across all your devices, you must set or change the password on each one individually.

If you cannot remember your current password

There is no password recovery option for Notes. Apple does not store your Notes password and cannot reset it for you. If you forget it, your only option is to turn off password protection, which requires entering your current password.

If you truly cannot remember the password and cannot turn it off, you will need to erase the Notes app data on that device. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage), find Notes, and tap Offload App. This removes the app but keeps your data. Then tap Reinstall App to read it fresh without a password. On Mac, you can delete the Notes app and reinstall it from the App Store, though this will also remove any notes stored locally on that Mac.

Why change your Notes password regularly

Changing your password periodically reduces the risk that someone who once had access to your device could still unlock your notes. If you share your device with family members or if your device has been in a repair shop, changing the password ensures that only you can access your locked notes going forward.

You should also change your Notes password if you suspect someone knows it or has seen you enter it. Unlike your device passcode, which protects everything on your phone, your Notes password protects only the Notes app — so changing it does not affect other settings or data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the same password for Notes on all my devices?

You can choose the same password on each device, but you must set it separately on each one. Notes does not sync passwords across devices. If you want the same password everywhere, you will need to manually enter it on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

What if I change my device passcode — does my Notes password change too?

No. Your Notes password is separate from your device passcode. Changing one does not affect the other. You unlock Notes using your device's biometric or passcode authentication, but the Notes password itself remains unchanged.

Can someone see my Notes password if I type it in front of them?

Once you set a Notes password, you do not type it to unlock the app — you use Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode instead. The password itself is only entered during setup or when you change it in Settings, so it is less exposed than a password you type every time you open the app.

If I turn off Notes password protection, will my notes be deleted?

No. Turning off password protection removes the lock but keeps all your notes intact. They will straightforward be unprotected and visible to anyone who opens the Notes app on your device.

Does my Notes password protect notes stored in iCloud?

Your Notes password protects notes on the device itself. Notes stored in iCloud are encrypted by Apple's servers separately. The device-level password does not extend to iCloud backups or notes accessed from another device.