Technologies

Keep Your Private Conversations Secret With Your iPhone Notes App

I stopped using an extra app for private conversations. Instead I use my iPhone’s Notes app. Here’s how it works.

I spend a lot of time on my iPhone. Like most people, it’s how I communicate with friends and family. However, as technology has progressed, keeping certain conversations private has become more difficult. There are times I want to talk about something personal or plan a surprise party for a friend, and in those cases I want to ensure nobody else can see what I’m saying.

I used to think I needed a special app for private chats, but then I found a super simple workaround — the iPhone Notes app. Yep, that basic little app turns out to be a great way to message someone quietly without downloading anything new. Signal and WhatsApp are solid for privacy, but sometimes the best tools are the ones already sitting on your home screen.

The built-in Notes app for iOS is a secret weapon for private conversations. It’s always fun to use an app in an unintended way — almost like you’re bending the rules. But everything you need is built in, making it a simple way to have private conversations. We’ll lay it all out for you below.

For more iOS tips, check out the new features in iOS 17.5 and how easy it is to view and copy Wi-Fi passwords on your iPhone or iPad.

Create a note in the Notes app

On your iPhone, launch the Notes app, and tap the compose button on the bottom right to create a new note. Next, type anything into the note to keep it, or else it’ll automatically be deleted when you exit from the note. You can also just go into an existing note, but it’s better to start fresh with a new one.

Adjust your note’s share options to add collaborators

Once your note is up and ready to go, you can begin the process of adding another person as a collaborator, which means they can read and edit whatever is in the note. To start, tap the More button on the top right, and then hit Share Note.

Now tap Share Options and make sure the Can make changes option is selected under Permission. You should also toggle off Anyone can add people in case you want to be the only person who can add collaborators to your note. Go back to the last page when you’re finished configuring these settings.

Add people and share the link

Next, choose a method to share the note: You can send it via text message, email, social media and more. If you swipe on the share options, you can also select Copy Link, which copies the note link to your clipboard and allows you to paste it wherever you want.

For this example, I’ll 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 you want to access the note. You can also tap the Add icon to search through your contacts. Adding a contact to the note is required. 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.

Lastly, hit Copy Link to copy the note link to your clipboard and share it with your collaborator.

Send secret messages using Notes

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

To communicate, simply type something into the note, which the other person will be able to see in real-time without you having to hit send. They’ll also receive a notification any time the note is altered.

Each person in the note will have a corresponding color appear (only for a moment) so that everyone else knows who typed what. You can also swipe right from the middle of the note to see the name of who wrote the message, as well as a time stamp for when the message was written and any corresponding colors.

You can also tap the Share Note button (with the check mark icon), go to Manage Shared Note and then toggle on Highlight All Changes. That way, all messages will stay permanently highlighted in their corresponding color, making it easier to read the conversation.

If you want to keep your communications more low-key, delete your message or the other person’s message to strike it from the note. That way your conversation is more like it would be on Snapchat, with ephemeral or short-lived messages that outsiders can’t see if they snoop through your notes. You can do this with any text in the notes, as well as photos, videos, links, drawings or any other attachments you add to the note.

Delete your secret chat for good

Not all secret conversations can go on forever, so it’s time now to end it.

If you’re the owner of the note and want to keep the note intact for everyone but prevent them from editing it, you can easily do so. On the top right, tap the View Participants button and then hit Manage Shared Note. To remove a participant, you can either swipe left on their name and then hit Remove or you can tap on their name and then tap Remove Access.

Additionally, you can tap the Stop Sharing option, which will not only remove participants from the note but also delete the note from all of their devices.

If you’re not the owner of the note, you can just delete the note from the Notes application.

For more tech tips, don’t miss how to save money by borrowing an Airtag for travel and the two settings to change on your iPhone to go to sleep faster.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 25, #806

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 25, #806.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle was all over the place for me. I solved the blue category right away, but did not even see the purple theme coming. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: A bad situation.

Green group hint: Tiny circles.

Blue group hint: Frosty the Snowman smoked one.

Purple group hint: Not up.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Predicament.

Green group: Small spherical things.

Blue group: Pipe-smoking accessories.

Purple group: What «down» might mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is predicament. The four answers are fix, jam, mess and pickle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is small spherical things. The four answers are mothball, pea, pearl and pom-pom.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is pipe-smoking accessories. The four answers are filter, lighter, pipe cleaner and tamper.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «down» might mean. The four answers are feathers, guzzle, sad and willing.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 25 #540

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 25, No. 540.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Some students have been back to school for weeks, but others see that first day looming large. Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a timely related theme. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Back to school.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Stock your locker.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

PACK, PACT, TOLL, LAPS, SLAP, SLAT, LOST, BOOK, BOOKS, CRAP

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

LAPTOP, FOLDERS, BACKPACK, NOTEBOOKS, CALCULATOR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SUPPLIES. To find it, look for the S that is five letters down on the far-right row, and wind backwards.

Technologies

Back-to-School Deal: Tello’s Unlimited Plan Gets You Cell Service for $15 Per Month Your First 3 Months

Tello’s back-to-school deal lets you save big on cellphone service, but you have until Monday to take advantage of this discount.

The cost of every day basics continues to go up, but we take great pride in looking for ways to help you cut your expenses wherever you can. If you haven’t considered switching phone plans, maybe it’s time to do just that. Phone plans are a necessary line item on everyone’s budget, but switching to a cheaper one can help you save money every monty — which adds up over time.

If you’re looking to make a change, Tello is offering Unlimited phone plans for just $15 per month for your first three months this back-to-school season. You pay this as a $45 upfront payment rather than month to month, which may be preferable for some customers. After your initial three-month period on the Tello plan, the price reverts to the usual cost of $25 per month. But this deal is available only to new Tello customers until Monday.

Tello offers 5G and 4G LTE nationwide coverage so you can reliably get through phone calls or surf the internet. The plan includes unlimited data, 35GB of high-speed data, and free Wi-Fi and hotspot calling. US plans include free calls and texts to more than 60 countries, including Canada, India and Mexico. Data speeds slow down after you use your 35GB. Tello allows you to bring your own phone or lets you get a new one for a separate fee.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

If you’re looking for an even more budget-friendly plan, you can also consider their 2GB plans for $10 per month. Right now their 5GB plan is $10 for the first month and then just $14 per month. These have data limits, but they include unlimited talk and text. Once you select your plan, it will renew every 30 days unless you cancel or change it.

Looking for more ways to save on your phone plan but not sure if this deal is for you? Check out our list of the best cheap phone plans or best family plans so you can find exactly the plan you need.

MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 512GB Unlocked AI Phone (Silver Shadow):

$920 (save $280)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G 128GB Unlocked Phone (Awesome Black):

$350 (save $50)
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 128GB Unlocked AI Phone (Gray):

$525 (save $125)
Moto G Stylus 5G 256GB Unlocked Phone(2024 Model, Caramel Latte):

$300 (save $100)
Apple iPhone 14 128GB Unlocked Phone (Refurbished, Midnight):

$334 (save $295)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

At just $15 per month for three months (and $25 after this period), Tello’s Unlimited plan is one of the most budget-friendly deals available in the market right now and can save you hundreds over the year. This deal is available until Monday, and now is an excellent time to take advantage of it.