6 Ways to Undo in Notes on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Did you accidentally delete or overwrite important text in the Notes app? Don't worry—we can help you get it back! While not obvious at first, there are several easy ways to undo mistakes and even recover deleted notes in your iPhone or iPad's Notes app, including shaking the phone or tablet, using the undo button, and quick finger gestures. You can also undo in the Notes app on your Mac. This wikiHow article will teach you six easy ways to undo typing and other changes in the Notes app.

How do you undo in Notes?

The easiest way to undo in the Notes app is to give your phone a shake and then tap Undo. You can also undo deletions and added text by swiping left with 3 fingers, tapping the Undo icon (the left-pointing arrow), or using a 3-finger double-tap. On a keyboard, press Cmd + Z to undo in Notes.

1

Shake to Undo

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Shake your iPhone or iPad and select Undo. This action will undo the most recent edit you made to the open note. If you change your mind, you can give your phone or tablet another shake and select Redo Typing.
- If you tend to activate Shake to Undo accidentally, you can disable it. Just open the Settings app and go to Accessibility > Touch. Tap the "Shake to Undo" switch to disable this feature.

2

Use the Undo Icon

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Tap the arrow pointing left at the top of the Notes app. Tapping this Undo button reverses the last action, so you'll get back any text you accidentally deleted or overwrote.^{[1]
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- Tap the arrow pointing left to undo the last change. You can undo multiple actions this way by tapping the icon again (if illuminated).
- Tap the arrow pointing right to redo the most recent change you've undone.
- You can also use these options if you're editing a note in a web browser.

3

Three-Finger Swipe

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Swipe left with three fingers. If you've accidentally overwritten or erased some text in a note, a quick left-swipe with three fingers will instantly undo the last action. This gesture also works in other apps, including Pages.^{[2]
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- If you change your mind about undoing the last action, just swipe three fingers to the right and select Redo.

4

Three-Finger Double Tap

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Quickly tap the screen twice with three fingers. This brings up an editing menu that has a left-pointing arrow and a right-pointing arrow on either side.^{[3]
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- Tap the arrow pointing left to undo the last action.
- Tap the arrow pointing right to redo if you change your mind.
- The three-finger swipe trick also works in other apps, including in Pages.

5

Keyboard Shortcut

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If you're using a Mac or an iPad with an external keyboard attached, you can use this simple keyboard shortcut to quickly undo the last action in the Notes app. If you change your mind, press Shift + Cmd + Z to redo the undone action.^{[4]
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6

Recover a Deleted Note

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If you accidentally deleted a note you still need, you can recover it. As long as it's been fewer than 30 days since you deleted the note from the Notes app, you will find the deleted note in your Recently Deleted folder thanks to iCloud. Here's how to undo deleting an entire note:^{[5]
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- In the Notes app, tap the back button at the top-left until you're in the "Folders" menu.
- Tap Recently Deleted under "iCloud."
- Tap Edit at the top-right and select the note(s) you want to restore.
- Tap Move and select Notes to restore the note.

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Tips

Did you know you can lock notes in the Notes app? If you're worried somebody will be able to access your iPhone and read your notes, you can lock a note with a password. Just tap the three dots at the top-right corner, tap Lock, and tap Create Password or Use iPhone Passcode to get started.^{[6]
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You can search for notes in the Notes app easily. Just tap the back arrow to return to the Folders area of the Notes app, then type some text that appears in the note you're looking for.

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