How to Lock Notes on Android: Samsung Notes, Google Keep and Others

How you lock a note on Android depends on the app you write in. Some notes apps have a lock of their own; for the others, Android (or Samsung) can lock the whole app. Everything below was checked on 29 October 2026 against each company's own help pages, linked in the text.

Samsung Notes: Lock a Single Note

Samsung Notes can lock individual notes with a password. Samsung's steps: open the note, tap More options, tap the Lock icon, then follow the prompts to create a password. The password can be changed later in Samsung Notes settings, under Note unlock methods. Samsung notes that a Samsung account is required to lock notes (Samsung support).

Google Keep: Lock the Whole App Instead

Google Keep's Help Center, checked on 29 October 2026, has no article on locking a note with a password or a fingerprint (Keep Help Center). If you want Keep notes behind a lock, lock the app itself:

Private space (Android 15 and later)

Private space is "a separate space on your Android device to hide and organize apps". When it is locked, its apps are stopped, hidden from the launcher and recent apps, and send no notifications. To set it up, per Google (Android Help):

1. Open Settings and select Security & privacy.
2. Under Privacy, select Private space, then confirm with your screen lock.
3. Tap Set up, choose whether to sign in to a Google Account (ideally one used only there), and pick a lock: your screen lock or a separate one.
4. Install or add the notes app inside the private space.

Google also says the existence of a private space cannot always be hidden, for example from someone who connects the phone to a computer.

Secure Folder (Samsung Galaxy)

Samsung's Secure Folder hides apps and files behind "a special passcode": a PIN, password or pattern, and fingerprint unlock on supported devices (Samsung support). A notes app placed in Secure Folder is locked along with it.

Files by Google also has a Safe folder protected by a PIN or pattern, but it holds files, not apps: installed apps cannot be moved into it (Files by Google Help).

Notes Apps With Their Own Lock

Sources: Standard Notes features, Notesnook plans, Joplin FAQ, Simplenote help, OneNote for Android.

A lock is not the same as encryption: a lock decides who can open the app, encryption decides whether the stored notes can be read without the key. Our guide to password-protected notes explains the difference, and the privacy comparison says which of these apps encrypt what.

Lock Your Notes in MemoLock

MemoLock locks the whole notebook, not one note at a time:

1. Install MemoLock and open it. The first launch asks you to choose a PIN on the number pad (at least 4 digits, or a PIN with letters if you prefer), to enter it a second time, then what happens if you forget it: a secret question, or no recovery. Without one, a forgotten PIN cannot be recovered.
2. In Settings > Security, turn on Fingerprint unlock if you want it, and choose Auto-lock: as soon as you leave the app, or after 30 seconds, 1 minute or 5 minutes.
3. To change your PIN later, use Change PIN in Settings > Security: MemoLock first asks for the current one.

Your memos, photos and voice notes are also encrypted on the phone (SQLCipher AES-256 for the database, AES-256-GCM for photos and voice notes), screenshots and the recent-apps preview are blocked by default, and after 3 wrong codes MemoLock makes you wait longer each time, up to 1 hour. MemoLock has no Internet permission, so the lock is not protecting a copy stored somewhere else.

Which Option Fits

• You use Samsung Notes and want to hide a few notes: lock those notes in Samsung Notes.
• You use Google Keep: put Keep in Private space (Android 15+) or Secure Folder (Galaxy), and remember the notes still sync to your Google Account.
• You want every note locked and encrypted on the phone, with nothing online: a dedicated app like MemoLock.