Have private conversations with secret messages in your iPhone’s Notes app
Did you know your phone can send secret messages? No, you don’t have to rely on some strange third-party app. It’s as easy as pie: if you have an iPhone, just head straight to the built-in Notes app and get ready to have some spicy conversations without worrying about prying eyes.
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No matter the nature of your private conversation, you have plenty of options available. Signal and WhatsApp are popular because of their focus on privacy. Why complicate things if you don’t have to?
The built-in Notes app for iOS is a secret weapon for private conversations. It’s always fun when you find a way to use an app outside of its intended use. It’s almost like you’re using it in a sneaky way that you shouldn’t, but all the pieces are there to make this an easy way to have private conversations with someone. We’ll break it all down for you below.
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Take a note in the Notes app
On your iPhone, open the Notes app and tap Composing button at the bottom right to create a new note. Then type something in the note to keep it, otherwise it will be automatically deleted when you leave the note. You can also just go to an existing note, but it’s better to start from scratch with a new one.
First, create a new note or go to an existing note.
Customize your note’s sharing options to add collaborators
Once your note is ready to go, you can start by adding another person as a collaborator, which means they can read and edit everything in the note. To get started, tap the More button at the top right and then press Share Note.
Now tap Stock options and make sure that the Can make changes option is selected under Consent. You should also uncheck the option Anyone can add people in case you want to be the only person who can add collaborators to your note. Return to the last page when you are done configuring these settings.
Second, manage what your employees can do.
Add people and share the link
Next, choose a method to share the note: You can send it via text, email, social media, and more. If you swipe across the sharing options, you can also select Copy Linkwhich allows you to copy the link to the note to your clipboard and then paste it wherever you want.
For this example I choose the Copy Link option to share the note.
At the top of the Copy Link page, enter the email address or phone number of the person who wants to access the note. You can also click the Add icon to search your contacts. Adding a contact to the note is required. If you share the link without adding a contact, the other person will not be able to see or edit the note, even with the link.
Lastly, hit Copy Link to copy the link to the note to your clipboard and share it with your collaborator.
Then add your employee(s).
Send Secret Messages Using Notes
The person on the receiving end will now need to open the note link and accept the invitation. If they accept, they will be taken to the Notes app and the collaborative note you just created.
To communicate, simply type something into the note, which the other person can see in real time without having to click send. They’ll also receive a notification when the note is changed.
Each person in the note gets a corresponding color (for a moment) so everyone knows who typed what. You can also swipe right from the middle of the note to see the name of the person who wrote the message, as well as a timestamp of when it was written and any associated colors.
Now you can communicate secretly with your friends and family.
You can also click on the Share Note button (with the check mark), go to Manage shared note and then turn it on Mark all changesThis way, all messages will remain permanently highlighted in their corresponding color, making it easier to read the conversation.
If you want to keep your communication a little more modest, delete your message or the other person’s message to remove it from the note. That way, your conversation will be more like Snapchat, with fleeting or ephemeral messages that outsiders won’t be able to see if they’re snooping through your notes. You can do this with any text in the notes, as well as any photos, videos, links, drawings, or other attachments you add to the note.
Delete your secret chat forever
Not all secret conversations can last forever. So now is the time to put an end to them.
If you are the owner of the note and want to keep it intact for everyone to see but prevent them from editing it, you can easily do that. Tap the View participants button and then press Manage shared noteTo remove a participant, you can swipe left on their name and then click To delete or you can tap on their name and then tap Remove access.
To end the conversation, remove all collaborators or stop sharing the note.
In addition, you can on the Stop sharing option, which will not only remove the participants from the note, but also delete the note from all of their devices.
If you are not the owner of the note, you can simply delete the note from the Notes app.
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