If you jot down passwords, journal entries, or even gift ideas in the Notes app, there’s a good chance this bug will make your skin crawl.
For weeks, a glitch in iOS let anyone with physical access to your iPhone peek at your notes, even if your phone was locked. This was not great.
This wasn’t about someone hacking into your iCloud or cracking your passcode. The issue was surprisingly low-tech.
In some versions of iOS 18, users discovered that by swiping into Control Center from the lock screen and tapping the Notes icon (if enabled), they could access and scroll through their most recent notes. That’s right—no Face ID or passcode, just a quick swipe and tap.
The problem is that most people don’t even realize Notes can be accessed this way. Apple includes a Notes toggle in Control Center by default, and unless you’ve disabled it manually or set Notes to “Start New Note” under lock screen settings, it could show the last one you opened.
That means anyone who picked up your phone could see anything from a private journal entry to your bank login.
Apple has officially addressed the issue with iOS 18.5, rolling out a fix that ensures sensitive content in Notes stays hidden unless your iPhone is unlocked.
If you haven’t updated it, it’s worth doing so immediately. For even better peace of mind, you can also remove the Notes app from the Control Center if you have never used it.
To do that, head to Control Center and tap the plus (+) sign in the top left corner. Then, remove the Notes shortcut by tapping on the minus (-) sign in the top left corner of the control.
This bug highlights how easily small oversights can become privacy nightmares, especially on a device we trust with so much personal information.
Apple hasn’t commented publicly on how long the bug went unnoticed, but the good news is it’s fixed. Now you can go back to writing your secret novel or grocery list in peace.
