Instant Notes is a feature of Apple's stock Notes app that enables you to make a fast note or return to a recently viewed note, without even needing to unlock your iPhone or iPad.


It's a really handy function to use if you want to quickly jot down something and then go about the rest of your day, or if you want to add to an existing note or refer back to one on the fly that you created earlier.

Instead of unlocking your device, opening the Notes app, and then creating a document, with Instant Notes you can start typing almost immediately. And as you'd expect, when Apple designed Instant Notes, it also factored in security. So when you create a new note with it, you can't access other existing notes in the Notes app unless you unlock your iOS device first.

It's the same story when you set up the Instant Notes feature so that it always returns you to your last viewed note. You can even choose how much time elapses before the last viewed note is no longer accessible without unlocking your device.

Before getting started with Instant Notes, you need to add Notes to your device's Control Center. The following set of steps show you how. After that, we'll show you how to set up Instant Notes on an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ running iOS 11 or later, and then how you can use it.

How to Add Notes to the iOS Control Center

  1. Launch the Settings app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
  2. Tap Control Center.
  3. Tap Customize Controls.
    settings

  4. Scroll down to More Controls.
  5. Tap on the "+" sign to the left of Notes to add it to Control Center.

How to Set Up Instant Notes on Your iPhone or iPad

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
  2. Scroll down and tap Notes.
  3. Scroll down and tap Access Notes from Lock Screen.
    settings

  4. If you always want to create a new note each time you use Instant Notes, tap Always Create a New Note. If you only want to use this option, you can skip ahead to the next set of steps.
  5. To keep returning to a note you created earlier, tap Resume Last Note, and you'll see more options revealed on the screen.
    settings

  6. To always resume the last note you created from the Lock screen, tap Created on Lock Screen. To always resume the last note you created from within the Notes app when your device was unlocked, tap Viewed in Notes App.
  7. The last series of options lets you set up Instant Notes so that it sends you to a new note from the Lock screen After 5 minutes, After 15 minutes, After 1 Hour, After Today, or Never. The shorter the time limit, the safer your note will be from potential prying eyes.

How to Use Instant Notes on iPhone and iPad

Now that you've set up Instant Notes on your device, it's time to use it as it's intended, i.e. when your device is locked. Here's how it works.

  1. Raise your device to wake the screen.
  2. Access the Control Center: On an ‌‌iPad‌‌ with a Home button, simply double-tap the Home button; on ‌iPhone‌ 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom of the screen; and on a 2018 iPad Pro or ‌‌iPhone‌‌ X and later, swipe down from the upper right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap the Notes button you added to the Control Center previously.
    control center

  4. Simply start typing your new note, or check and/or add to the last note you viewed, depending on how you set up the feature.
  5. Tap Done when you're finished, then sleep your device's screen.

That's all there is to it. You can also access Instant Notes on ‌iPad‌ using an Apple Pencil.

Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
iphone 17 pro majin bu sky blue

iPhone 17 Pro Allegedly Coming in Sky Blue Color Used for MacBook Air

Tuesday April 22, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro in a new Sky Blue color, the same color that debuted on the latest M4 MacBook Air models Apple released in March. That's according to the leaker Majin Bu. Concept mockup from Majin Bu Writing on his website, Bu claims that "sources close to the supply chain confirm that several iPhone 17 Pro prototypes have been made in various colors, with Sky Blue...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...