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 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 that you set up Notes with iCloud or have notes saved on your device. Many Notes features won't work with other email providers.

iPhone showing how to create a note in the Notes app

Create a new note

  1. Open Notes.
  2. Tap the Compose buttonCompose button, then create your note.
  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 quickly access Notes from Control Center. Go to Settings > Control Center, and add Notes. Then open Control Center 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 — like photos, videos, or web links.

Pin a note

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

Pin your favorite 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 buttonYellow pin button. To unpin a note, swipe right over the note again.

Format a note

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

When you're in a note, tap the table buttonFormatting icon for a table. or the formatting buttonFormatting icon for titles and headings in the Notes app. to add a table, title, heading, or bulleted list. You can also touch and hold Formatting icon for titles and headings in the Notes app. to quickly open a list of formatting options.

Add an attachment

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

To add something from another app, like a location or website, tap the Share buttonShare button in the app that you want to share from. 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 buttonCamera 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.

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

Create folders

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

Move a note to a different folder

iPhone showing what notes look like in the Gallery view.

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 you're looking for. Open a folder or list of notes, tap the More button More button, then tap View as Gallery.

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 recognize what's in the images inside of your notes. For example, if you search for "bike," search will show you all 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 create an instant note from the Lock Screen or pick up where you left off on your last note. 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 Face ID, Touch ID, along with a password to lock and unlock your notes.

Learn more about keeping your notes secure with password-protection.

Delete a note

  1. Swipe left over the note in the Notes list.
  2. Tap the Trash buttonTrash button.

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

To recover a deleted note, go to the Folders list and tap Recently Deleted. Tap the note that you want to keep, tap in the note, then tap Recover. Learn what to do if you're missing notes.

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.

Published Date: