Use Notes on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

With Notes, you can capture a quick thought, create checklists, sketch ideas and more. And with iCloud, you can keep your notes updated across all of your devices.

Notes icon

Get started

  • Make sure that your iPhone iPad or iPod touch has the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.

  • To use the latest features of Notes, make sure you've set up Notes with iCloud or have notes saved on your device. Many Notes features won't work with other email providers.

Create a new note

  1. Open Notes.

  2. Tap the Compose buttonCompose button, then create your note.

    iPhone showing how to create a note in the Notes app.

  3. Tap Done.

The first line of the note becomes its title. To change the formatting style of the first line, go to Settings > Notes > New Notes Start With, then select an option.

You can also access Notes quickly from Control Centre. Go to Settings > Control Centre, and add Notes. Then open Control Centre and tap Notes to create a note. Or, just ask Siri to "Start a new note".

Do more with Notes

With Notes, you can pin your top notes, draw, create checklists, scan and sign documents, and add attachments — such as photos, videos or web links.

Pin a note

iPhone showing how to pin a note in the Notes app.

Pin your favourite or most important notes to make them easier to find. To pin a note, swipe right over the note, then release. Or go to the note, tap the More buttonMore button, then tap the Pin buttonPin button. To unpin a note, swipe right over the note again.

Format a note

The format options in Notes on iPhone

Formatting icon for titles and headings in the Notes app. to add a table, title, heading or bullet point list. You can also touch and holdFormatting icon for titles and headings in the Notes app. to quickly open a list of formatting options.

Undo changes to a note

If you want to reverse a change you've made in a note, tap the Undo buttonNo alt supplied for Image at the top of the screen. You can undo any changes you’ve made while you have the current note open.

Add an attachment

iPhone showing how to add an attachment in the Notes app.

Share button Tap the Notes app, then select the note that you want to add an attachment to, then tap Save.

Add a photo or video

iPhone showing how to add a photo or video to a note in the Notes app.

To add a photo or video, tap in a note, then tap the Camera button Camera button. Tap Take Photo or Video to create a new photo or video, or Choose Photo or Video to add an existing one. Tap Use Photo or Use Video, or tap Add to add an existing one. You can also scan documents and add them to your notes.

Link to a note

In iOS 17 and later, you can link to other notes within a note:

  1. In a note, touch and hold any blank space. Let go to bring up the options menu.

  2. Swipe or tap the Forward buttonNo alt supplied for Image to find Add Link, then tap Add Link.

  3. Enter the title of the note you want to link to and select it from the list.

    The options for adding a link in Notes on your iPhone with iOS 17 or later.

  4. Turn Use Note Title as Name on or off. Enter different link text if needed.

  5. Tap Done.

You can also type ">>" in the body of your note, enter the title of the note that you want to link to and select it from the list.

Create folders

  1.  to see your Folders list. to see your Folders list.

  2. In the Folders list, tap the New Folder button New folder icon.

    iPhone showing how to create a folder in the Notes app.

  3. Choose where to add the folder. To create a subfolder, drag the folder that you want to be a subfolder to the main folder. It will move below the main folder and be indented.

  4. Name your folder, then tap Save.

Move a note to a different folder

  1. to go back to your Notes list. to go back to your Notes list.

  2. In the Notes list, tap the More buttonMore button, then tap Select Notes.

  3. Tap the notes that you want to move.

    iPhone showing how to move a note to a different folder in the Notes app.

  4. Tap Move, then select the folder you want to move them to.

See your notes in Gallery view

Gallery view gives you a new way to see your notes — making it easier than ever to find the note that you're looking for. Open a folder or list of notes, tap the More buttonMore button, then tap View as Gallery.

iPhone showing what notes look like in the Gallery view.

To sort your notes inside of folders:

  1. Go to the folder that you want to sort.

  2. Tap the More buttonMore button, then tap Sort Notes By.

  3. Choose how you want to sort your notes.

To sort all of your notes automatically, go to Settings > Notes, and tap Sort Notes By. Then choose how you want to sort your notes.

Search for a note or attachment

To search for a specific note, just tap the Search field, then enter what you’re looking for. You can search for typed and handwritten notes. Search can recognise what's in the images inside your notes. For example, if you search for "bike", search will show you all of the images that you have with a bike. Search can also find specific text inside scanned documents or images, like receipts or bills.

To search for something in a specific note, select the note, tap the More buttonMore button, then tap Find in Note and type what you're searching for.

You can also search for attachments. While you're in a Notes list, tap the More buttonMore button, then tap View Attachments. To go to the note with the attachment, touch and hold the thumbnail of the attachment, then tap Show in Note.

Create an instant note from the Lock Screen

You can use an Apple Pencil with a compatible iPad To change these settings, go to Settings > Notes, tap Access Notes from the Lock Screen, and choose an option.

Tap the Lock Screen with your Apple Pencil and create your note. Whatever you create is automatically saved in Notes.

Keep your notes secure

The Notes app lets you lock any note that you want to keep private from anyone else that might use your device. Depending on your device, you can use your device's passcode or your Mac login password, along with Face ID or Touch ID, to lock and unlock your notes.

Use password protection with your notes

Delete a note

  1. Swipe left over the note in the Notes list.

  2. Tap the Bin button Bin button.

You can also open the note, tap the More buttonMore button, then tap Delete.

Find out what to do if you're missing notes

Recover a deleted note

  1. In the Notes app, go to the Folders list.

  2. Tap Recently Deleted.

  3. Tap the note you want to keep.

  4. Tap anywhere in the note, then tap Recover.

Set up Notes with iCloud

You can use iCloud to update your notes across all of your devices. To set up Notes with iCloud, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud, then turn on Notes. You’ll see your notes on all of your Apple devices that you’re signed in to with the same Apple ID.

Find out more about Notes

Use iCloud Notes from a web browser

To use Notes on iCloud.com, go to icloud.com and sign in using your Apple ID (the one you use with iCloud). Click on the Notes app.

If you're using another iCloud app, you can switch to Notes by clicking the app's name at the top of the icloud.com window.

When working with Notes on iCloud.com, make sure you use a browser recommended in System requirements for iCloud.

If you can only see Pages, Numbers, Keynote and Settings on iCloud.com, you don’t have an iCloud Notes account set up. To save your notes to iCloud, which lets you sync notes between your different devices and lets you access your notes on the Web, go to the iCloud Settings > Accounts on your device and turn Notes syncing on.

If you try to use Notes on iCloud.com, but receive a message stating that an iCloud email address is needed, your iCloud isn’t set up with a free @icloud.com email account. iCloud uses this email account to store notes for the original Notes app on iCloud.com and your devices. If you don’t have an @icloud.com email address, you can create one by turning on Notes in iCloud preferences on your Mac or in Settings on your iOS device.

Published Date: