Locked means locked
Some notes are nobody's business. Lock one with a passphrase and it's encrypted before it ever leaves your device.
Only your passphrase opens it
A locked note is scrambled with strong, standard encryption, and your passphrase is the only way to unscramble it. Jottle never stores the passphrase, and iCloud only ever sees the scrambled version.
Face ID and Touch ID
Once you've unlocked with your passphrase on a device, that device can open your locked notes with Face ID, Touch ID or its passcode. A new device always asks for the passphrase first.
You choose what shows
Each locked note keeps a short label in your list so you can tell them apart. You pick the label when you lock the note, and it stays readable — so keep anything private out of it.
No way back in
If you forget your passphrase, your locked notes can't be recovered. Not by you, not by us, not by Apple. That's what makes them actually private.
Hidden from the app switcher
On iPhone and iPad, an open locked note is covered the moment you leave the app, so its text never shows in the app switcher. After Face ID there's a short pause before the note appears. That's Jottle waiting until it's safe to show you.