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How to use Apple Notes tags in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15

With iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, you can use tags to quickly categorize your notes so you can easily find them later. Just add one or more tags anywhere in any note. You can also use tags together with existing folders to search and filter your notes across multiple folders.

Add a tag to a note

With iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, you can add a tag anywhere in a note, including the title. To add a tag to a note, type # followed by the tag name or choose a tag from the suggestions menu above the keyboard. You can also add tags in your drawings with an Apple Pencil, just sketch # and the tag name within a note.

Tag names need to be one continuous word, but you can use hyphens and underscores to make tag names longer — for example, #gardening-supplies. You can add multiple tags to a note, and any tag you create is automatically added to the Tags browser under your list of Folders.

Add a tag to multiple notes

To add a tag to multiple notes:

  1. Go to the folder with the list of notes.
  2. Tap the More button , then tap Select Notes.
  3. Select the notes, then tap Tags at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Select the tags you want to add to the notes, then tap Done.

If you create a tag on a device with iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, it’ll show up in Notes on your other Apple devices if they’re using at least the latest version of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, or macOS Big Sur. If your other devices are using an older software version, the note with the tag will be hidden.

When you share a tagged note with someone who’s using at least the latest version of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, or macOS Big Sur, they’ll see the tagged word but it won’t appear as an actual tag until they add it as a tag. If you try to share a tagged note with someone who’s using an older software version, they won’t see the note at all.

Note that (pun intended) you can’t lock a note that has a tag and you can’t add a tag to a locked note.

Remove tags form your notes

To remove a tag from the Tags browser, remove it from all of the notes that include it. To remove a tag:

  1. Go to all the notes that have the tags and remove the tags.
  2. Tap Done.

The Tags browser will only show tags that are being used within your notes. If you remove a tag from a note, it’ll be removed from the Tags browser.

(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages.)

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.