--- title: How to Add Private Admin Notes to WooCommerce Products description: Add private notes to WooCommerce products that only admins and shop managers can see, with author and date on every note. url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-private-admin-notes/" updated: "2026-09-27" category: How to --- # How to Add Private Admin Notes to WooCommerce Products To add private admin notes to WooCommerce products, open any product and use the **Private notes** box in the sidebar, added by [Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/product-notes-for-woocommerce/). Control where they appear at **WPFactory > Product Notes > Private notes**. Customers never see private notes. ## Before you start - Product Notes installed and active (free version is enough for adding notes). - The **Private notes > Enable section** option switched on. It is on by default. ## How to add a private note 1. Go to **Products** and open the product for editing. 2. In the sidebar, find the **Private notes** box and click **Add new note**. 3. Type the note, for example supplier details, a reorder reminder or packing instructions. 4. Click **Add new note** again for each extra note. There is no limit per product. 5. Click **Update** to save. Each saved note shows "last modified by" with the username and date, so your team can see who wrote or changed it. To remove a note, tick its **Delete** box and click **Update**. ![product edit screen, Private notes box with two saved notes and the last modified by line](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/product-notes-private-admin-notes-1.png) ## Who can see private notes - **In the admin:** anyone who can edit the product sees the Private notes box. - **On the storefront:** only logged-in users with the `manage_woocommerce` capability, which by default means administrators and shop managers. Everyone else sees nothing. - **In customer emails:** never. The Pro customer email option only exists for public notes. By default private notes appear to administrators and shop managers in a **Private notes** tab on the product page. To keep them in the admin only, go to **WPFactory > Product Notes > Private notes** and untick **Frontend Options > Product tab**. ## Make notes easier to write and read These options are in **WPFactory > Product Notes > Private notes > Backend Options** and are free: - **Visual editor > Product notes**: replaces the plain text field with the WordPress visual editor. - **Textarea style > Product notes**: CSS for the plain text field. The default is `width:100%;height:150px;`. It is ignored when the visual editor is on. ## Find private notes faster (Pro) Product Notes Pro adds these options to the same Backend Options group: - **Admin products list column**: shows the notes in a column on the **Products** screen. - **Admin search**: makes the Products screen search match note text. - **Admin orders** and **Admin emails**: show the notes next to each item in orders and in emails sent to the store. See [how to search, export and bulk edit product notes](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-search-export-bulk-edit/) and [how to show product notes in orders and emails](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-orders-emails/). ## Delete all private notes at once Go to **WPFactory > Product Notes > Private notes > Tools**, tick **Products > Delete** and click **Save changes**. This removes the private notes from every product and variation. There is no undo, so export or back up first if you may need them. This tool is free. ## FAQ ### Can customers see private notes? No. On the storefront, private notes are only output for users with the `manage_woocommerce` capability. Guests and customers do not get the tab or any other private note output. The one exception is the `[alg_wc_product_notes]` shortcode: if you set it to show private notes, it does not check who is viewing, so do not place it on public pages. ### Can I add more than one private note to a product? Yes. Click **Add new note** as many times as you need. Each note is saved separately with its own author and date. ### Can I add private notes to individual variations? Yes. Turn on **Private notes > General Options > Note per variation** and a note field appears for each variation. See [how to add notes to product variations](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-variation-notes/). ### Do I need Pro for private notes? No. Adding, editing, deleting and displaying private notes is free. Pro adds them to the products list, admin search, orders, emails, export, import and quick or bulk edit. ### Get more control Private notes are free. [Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/product-notes-for-woocommerce/) Pro shows them in your products list, orders and admin emails, and makes them searchable. [See what Pro unlocks](https://wpfactory.com/item/product-notes-for-woocommerce/). Need a hand? Our team answers every ticket on the [Product Notes support forum](https://wpfactory.com/support/item/product-notes-for-woocommerce/). Related articles - [How to Show Product Notes to Customers in WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-public-notes-tab/) - [Product Notes Developer Reference: Shortcode, Functions and Hooks](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-developer-reference/) - [Product Notes Troubleshooting](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-troubleshooting/) - [Product Notes Free vs Pro](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-free-vs-pro/) - [Product Notes Settings Reference](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-notes-settings-reference/)