You can use the Notes app to have secret conversations on your iPhone

Every time you send and receive text messages on your iPhone, you leave a trail, which is usually not a problem. You want most of your messages to be saved and recorded so you can look back at them at any time, but sometimes you just need your conversations to be a little more… private.

That’s one of the reasons apps love it Snapchat and Sign they are so popular. However, you don’t need to download a third-party app to have more secret conversations on your iPhone. Instead, a built-in Apple app lets you send temporary, hidden messages to friends and family — and it’s been around ever since. iOS 10.

The Notes app lets you collaborate on notes, whether it’s grocery lists or a collection of dad jokes. Anyone participating in a collaborative note can edit them in real-time—and thus have hidden conversations. You can have an incredibly long, one-on-one conversation—without any lasting evidence that it ever existed.

Here’s what you need to know to learn how to turn a note into a hidden conversation on iOS. And while you’re here, check out the hidden trackpad found on the iOS keyboard and these 10 Hidden iOS 16 Features You Should Know.

First, create a note in Notes

On your iPhone, launch the Notes app and tap the button It compiles button in the lower right corner to create a new note. Then type anything in the note to keep it or it will be automatically deleted when you exit the note. You can enter an existing note, but it’s better to start over with a new one.

Change the note’s sharing settings to add collaborators

Once your note is created and ready to use, you can start adding another person as a contributor, which means they can read and edit the content in your note. Tap to start More button in the upper right corner, then press Share a comment.

Tap it now Sharing settings and make sure that a You can change option is selected under Permission. It should also be turned off Anyone can add people in case you are the only person who can add co-workers to your note. When you have finished configuring the settings, return to the last page.

Add friends you want to add and share the link

Then choose how you want to share the note: send it via text message, email, social media, etc. If you slide the share settings, you can choose Copy linkwhich copies the note reference to the clipboard and allows you to paste it anywhere.

In this example, 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 you want to access the note. You can also tap the option Addition icon to search among contacts. Add a contact to the note – if you share the link without adding a contact, the other person won’t be able to see or edit the note, even with the link.

Finally hit Copy Link to copy the note link to the clipboard and share it with a collaborator.

You can send secret messages using Notes

The other person on the receiving end should now open the note link and accept the invitation. If they accept, they’ll be redirected to Notes and the shared note you just created.

To communicate, simply type something in the note that the other person can see in real time without having to press send. They will also be notified of changes to the comment.

For each person in the note, a corresponding color will appear (just for a moment) so that everyone knows who wrote 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 the time stamp for when the message was written and the corresponding colors.

You can also tap the option Share a comment button (with the tick icon), go to the next Manage a shared note then turn it on Select All changes. This way, all messages are permanently highlighted with the right color, making the conversation easier to read.

And if you want your communication to be more discreet, delete the message or the other person’s message to remove it from the note. This makes your conversation more like Snapchat, with ephemeral or short-lived messages that outsiders can’t see if they scroll through your notes. You can do this with any text in your notes, as well as photos, videos, links, drawings, or any other attachment you add to your note.

Delete the secret chat permanently

Not every secret conversation can last forever, so it’s time to end it.

If you are the owner of the note and want to keep the note for everyone, but prevent them from editing it, you can easily do so. Tap the icon in the upper right corner View participants button, then press Manage a shared note. To remove a participant, swipe their name to the left and press the button Remove it or tap their name, then tap Remove access.

You can also tap the Stop sharing option that not only removes participants from the note, but also deletes the note from all their devices.

If you don’t own the note, you can simply delete the note from the Notes app.

First published: June 17, 2022 6:00 AM PT.