Read-only guards a note against a stray tap or keystroke. It is meant for reference notes you want to keep exactly as they are, not a passcode lock: anyone with access to your account can still turn it off in a couple of taps.
Turning it on
Open a note's actions menu (the ... menu) and choose Make Read-Only. On iPad, Mac, and the web app, a dedicated toolbar button also appears once a note is read-only, so you always have a quick way to see the state and reverse it.
What gets blocked
While a note is read-only, its editor will not accept:
- Typing or pasting text
- Checking off tasks
- Drag and drop
- The formatting toolbar and undo/redo
What still works
Read-only only blocks editing. Everything else on the note works exactly as before: pinning, tags, archive, trash, sharing, and export.
Turning it off
Tap the read-only button (or the actions menu entry) and confirm Make Editable. The confirmation step exists so re-enabling the keyboard is always a deliberate choice, not an accidental tap.
Where you can toggle it
The Make Read-Only and Make Editable actions are available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the web app. On Apple Watch there is no toggle: the watch simply respects whatever state the note is in, hiding the append button and disabling task check-off for read-only notes. Flip the guard from your phone, Mac, or the web app instead.
Spotting read-only notes
A small read-only indicator appears next to the pin and share icons in the note list, so you can tell at a glance which notes are read-only. The read-only state syncs across your devices like any other note property.