Why the iPhone Notes app is becoming the new favourite hiding spot for cheaters

iPhone

For most people, the Notes app on an iPhone is the last place they would look for signs of a secret conversation. It is where grocery lists, weekend reminders and half-written thoughts live. But private investigators say that the quiet little yellow app has become an unexpected hiding spot for people who want to talk to someone without leaving a trace in their regular messages.

The trick lies in the collaboration feature inside Notes. Apple created it so that two or more people could plan together. You can share a single note and type in it at the same time. The updates appear almost instantly as if it is a tiny shared document. Because there is no send button and no pop-up message, it does not feel like a chat window, which is exactly why it has turned into one.

All it takes is a harmless title at the top. Something as ordinary as Grocery List or Weekend Plan is enough to keep suspicion away. Both people then type new lines inside the shared note. When the conversation is over, the owner can simply stop sharing it or delete it. The entire note disappears from the other person’s device. Most partners who go hunting for clues will scroll through WhatsApp, Instagram DMs or Messenger. Very few think to tap open Notes.

Australian private investigator Cassie Crofts says she now finds this trick again and again. Crofts runs a firm called Venus Investigations and works mostly with women who believe their partners are being dishonest. She told Daily Mail that cheaters are obsessed with the feature because it is simple and almost invisible. She explained that people can type whatever they want, wipe out parts of the note, add new bits and even lock the note with a password. For many clients, she said, this is where the final confirmation shows up.

The trend has also taken over TikTok, where creators keep posting videos about how people are using the app as a secret chat room. Some viewers said they discovered guilty conversations only because a shared note was left open on a laptop. Others joked that revealing the trick was breaking the bro code. The surprise is not that people find new ways to hide things. It is that they are doing it inside one of the most ordinary apps on an iPhone.

The appeal is clear. Notes does not send notifications that can be spotted. It can hide under a casual name. It can be locked. It looks boring and safe. These same qualities that make it useful for everyday planning have quietly turned it into a new space where some people carry on conversations they do not want anyone else to see.