But there is a secret spy among your apps. It is Notes. You use it to write shopping lists and similar nonsense. It is an unbelievable error on your part. You are throwing away the instrument of your security. It is a built-in vault for your secrets. It is time to turn your plain app into a digital Fort Knox. Your private life cannot stay vulnerable any longer.
High school is chaotic and full of nosey people. There may be an entry in your diary that you would prefer your parents did not know about. Or maybe, you have a phone number of your crush. Or maybe, you have the Wi-Fi password of your neighbor. Or maybe, you have the answers to a history test. We are not talking about your morality. We are talking about protection of your data. The point is that people will use your phone. It happens every day. One minute you allow your friend to make a phone call, and the next – you realize he browses through your notes. You need to protect your data from such invasions. You need encryption.
What is encryption? It may sound like an advanced technology term. Do not be scared. It is incredibly simple. It is a method of encrypting your digital data. Once you encrypt it, it becomes coded. No one will be able to decipher it. It can be done only using the special key. It is either your fingerprint, your face, or your password. Without the key, it will be as readable as hieroglyphs on a stone plate. This is the standard of protection of secrets nowadays.
Your iPhone and iPad are equipped with this feature already. Apple named it "Lock Note". It is incredibly easy to use. First, you need to write down your secret information in the note. Then, look at the upper-right corner of your screen. You will see the icon which resembles a circle with three dots. Tap it. A drop-down menu with several options will appear. Choose the option that is called "Lock". Its icon resembles a padlock. You will be asked to enter your password if you did not set it yet. Otherwise, you can use Face ID or Touch ID. The note will be locked, and the icon will appear next to the note title. Now, no one will be able to read your note unless they have your face or fingerprint.
If you use Android, the method will depend on your phone model. If you are using Samsung Galaxy, you have an option to create a "Secure Folder" which functions as the second encrypted storage of your data. You can move your Notes app to the folder and then access it using separate PIN or biometric scan. Google Keep has an option of archiving the notes but it is not encryption. To encrypt your notes on Android, you need to check if there is "Lock" option in the manufacturer's app. If there is none, you should download some app like Standard Notes. It is open-source and focused on privacy.
Now, you are probably curious about what information should be protected in such a way. The answer is more than you might think. Passwords are the first thing to protect. Do not keep your Netflix or bank account passwords in plain text. Medical information is the second one. If you have allergies or you need some specific medicine, it is important to keep this information safe and accessible. This information will be useful in an emergency situation. But you do not want your medical information to be known to anyone else.
There is one disadvantage that you should be aware of. It is not that bad as it sounds but you still should know it. You may find yourself locked out of your secret notes. On the old iOS systems, you could restore your password using your device passcode. Unfortunately, on the new updates of iOS, you cannot restore your notes password. Once you forget the password for Notes on your device, your data in it will be lost forever. So, you need to choose the password that you will surely remember. Or you can use Face ID or Touch ID. You will not be able to forget your face.
It is time to talk about digital hygiene. It is a fancy name for proper care of your phone and its contents. You should treat your phone in the same way as your wallet. You will not leave your credit card on a park bench, right? Then, you should not leave your passwords in an unlocked app. Develop a habit of locking the note each time you write something secret. It takes only two seconds but they can save you from identity theft or at least the embarrassment. Moreover, you will feel like a spy dealing with top-secret documents.
Some students may be concerned about possible searches by the police or school administration. It is quite a complicated legal question but the general idea is that school administration has more rights to perform a search than the police without a warrant. However, with locked notes, the procedure becomes more complicated. The searcher will need to request your biometric data. In many states, you have rights to withhold them. So, while it will not make you absolutely invulnerable to the searches, it will complicate the process. And it is good in terms of preserving your privacy.
It is the age of oversharing. Everybody puts everything online. The era of privacy seems to be over. But you can take your privacy back with a few taps. You will not have to become a hacker or learn some difficult code. You just need to use the instruments that you already have. The developers, who made your phone, knew that you needed them. And they provided you with the protection. All you need to do is use it.
Think about it. You lost your phone at a party. It is stressful. You start imagining all the stuff that may be in your notes. Memes, rants, secrets.
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