Microsoft OneNote is great for taking, storing, and syncing notes among your devices. No matter how you use the app, it’s likely that some of your notes might contain personal information that you don’t want others to see or know about it.

The data might include account numbers, contact details, addresses, financial data, personal diaries, or more. OneNote has a built-in feature to keep your personal information private. We’ll show you how to password-protect your notes in OneNote on all your devices.

A Few Notes on OneNote Section Passwords

The “password-protection” feature was first seen in Microsoft OneNote 2010. If we follow the development in cipher and encryption technology of the Office suite, the 2007 version came with the industry-standard AES-128 for encryption.

In Office 2010, Microsoft continued with the same encryption scheme but increased the number of hash (SHA-1) iterations. And in Office 2013, Microsoft employed AES-256 and SHA-512 hashing algorithms. Keeping this timeline in view, we now know that the “password-protection” feature uses AES cipher. If you’re unaware of these terms, read our guide on essential encryption terminologies.

You can add passwords only to notebook sections, and not notebooks. By chance, if you forget your password, you’ll lose access to the notes in that section. Make sure you choose a strong password using a password manager. Also, remember that passwords in OneNote are case-sensitive.

Password-protected sections aren’t included in notebook searches. And tags on OneNote notes in a protected section aren’t included in note tag summaries. If you want to search for text or tags, make unlock the section and proceed.

Password Protect a Section in OneNote 2016 or Later

To password-protect a section, open the notebook that contains the section you want to protect. Right-click on the section tab and select Password Protect This Section. In the Password Protection pane on the right, click Set Password.

set up a password on notebook section OneNote2021

On the Password Protection dialog box, enter the password you want into the Enter Password and Confirm Password field. Then, click OK.

input the password for a section in notebook

You won’t have to apply the same password to a section on every device. The changes will propagate in a few minutes or hours automatically.

Lock and Unlock Password-Protected Sections

When you apply a password to a section, it doesn’t immediately lock the section. By default, password-protected sections are locked after five minutes. This time is configurable, and we’ll show you how to do that later.

To lock a section, open the Password Protection for that section and click Lock All or press Ctrl + Alt + L. This locks all unlocked sections in a split second.

lock all sections in a notebook with single click

Locked sections display a message saying, “This section is password protected.” To unlock the section, click on the section page or press Enter. On the dialog box that appears, type in your password and click OK.

unlock a protected section of a notebook

Change the Protected Section Password

To change the password of a section, we’ll first unlock the section as described above. Right-click the section tab and choose Password Protect This Section.

Then, open the Password Protection pane and click Change Password. On the dialog box, type in the current password into the Old Password field. Enter the new password in the Enter New Password and again the Confirm Password field. Click OK.

change password for a section OneNote2021

Remove a Protected Section’s Password

If you no longer need to protect a section, you can remove the password. Before doing this, ensure that you don’t have any personal data in that section.

Open the section you want to unprotect, and then open Password Protection pane. Click Remove Password. On the dialog box, type in the password and click Ok.

remove the password for a section

Configure Password-Protection Options

As we have discussed earlier, unlocked sections will lock after you haven’t worked in them for five minutes. OneNote has built-in options to configure the time limit.

Open the Password Protection pane and click Password Options link at the bottom of the pane.

configure password protection options OneNote2021

Or, navigate to File > Options and click the Advanced tab. Then, scroll down to see the Passwords section.

password protection options to configure time limit

To lock a section after a specified time, select Lock password-protected sections after I have not worked in them for the following amount of time, and then select the time from the dropdown menu.

To automatically lock a section as you navigate to another page, section, or notebook. Simply check Lock password protected sections as soon as I navigate from them. By default, any add-ins you have installed don’t have permission to access the password-protected section.

If you use any add-in, check Enable add-in programs to access password protected sections when they are unlocked. Click Ok and restart OneNote to apply your changes.

Password Protect a Section in OneNote for Windows 10 and Mac

There is virtually no difference in the procedure to add, change, or remove the password of a section. You’ll see a prominent lock/unlock icon to check the status of a section. Also, you cannot configure the time limit for those sections.

password protection feature built into OneNote Mac

Password Protect a Section in OneNote for iPad

On iPad, press and hold the section that you want to protect. A checkmark will appear just next to the section name. At the bottom of the section list, four icons will appear.

Tap the Padlock icon, then tap Protect This Section.

password protect a section on iPad

In the Password Protection dialog, type your password in the Password and Verify field. Then, tap Done.

enter the password in the protection dialog box iPad

Similarly, you can change or remove the password. If you change the password for an existing section on the iPad, make sure to sync your changes manually.

change or remove password iPad

In the future, you can unlock the section with Touch ID. You only have to set it up once.

Password Protect a Section in OneNote for Android

On Android, press and hold the section that you want to protect. A bullet point will appear just next to the section name. Then, tap the More button and again tap Protect Section. You can set up a fingerprint to unlock the section without typing the password.

Little-Known OneNote Features You Will Love

The password protection feature keeps your notes safe and is easy to use. Whether you use OneNote for school or work, you can apply passwords to any number of notebook sections. Make sure to keep that password safe in a password manager.

There are many more little OneNote features that can do wonders in day-to-day workflow. For example, sticky notes, page templates, wiki links, custom tags, and more. Read our guide to study these features and implement them in your life or work.