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How to Lock a Family Research Note on iPhone
Secure family research notes on an iPhone by configuring iCloud Keychain and tapping Lock in the Notes app. Certain file attachments are not supported.
To lock a family research note on your iPhone, you must use notes stored on your device or turn on Notes in your iCloud Settings [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. Once configured, you can secure your research so that nothing appears until you unlock it with your password, passcode, or Face ID [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support].
Setting up note passwords in Settings
If you want to lock your notes with your device passcode, you must turn on iCloud Keychain [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. To set up your security preferences, navigate to the Settings app, tap Apps, tap Notes, and then tap Password [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support].
If you have multiple accounts, tap the account that you want to set a password for [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. You can then follow the prompts to either Use Device Passcode or Create Password [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. As a practical suggestion, select a password option that you can reliably remember while reviewing your family history.
Unsupported note formats and accounts
You can only lock notes on your device and notes in iCloud [Lock your notes on iPhone - Apple Support]. Notes accounts that sync from a third-party service, like Gmail or Yahoo, will not include some Notes features and cannot be locked [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. You also cannot lock Quick Notes, notes shared in iCloud, or notes that sync with other accounts [Lock your notes on iPhone - Apple Support].
Certain attachments and formats will restrict you from securing the file. You cannot lock notes with tags, notes that use features from a newer version of Notes, or notes with file attachments, audio, video, or PDF content [Lock your notes on iPhone - Apple Support].
Locking and viewing the note
To secure your family research, go to the Notes app on your iPhone, open the note, then tap the Note Actions button and tap Lock [Lock your notes on iPhone - Apple Support]. After you lock your note, it stays open and you will see the Lock icon at the top of the screen [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. When a note is locked, the title remains visible in the notes list [Lock your notes on iPhone - Apple Support]. As a suggestion, avoid putting sensitive personal details in the note's title since it remains readable.
To review your research, tap the locked note and tap View Note [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support]. After a note is locked, nothing appears until you unlock it with your password, passcode, or Face ID [How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support].