How to Limit App Access to Photos on iPhone or iPad

An interesting privacy feature allows iPhone and iPad users to have complete control over which apps can access the photos on their device. If you’re interested in limiting which apps can access your device photos, read along.

This app specific access feature is available in iOS 14 and later. Previously, there were two options when it came to providing photo access for apps. You could choose to either share all the photos in your library or completely block photo access. But with new iOS and iPadOS versions, you’ll be able to take advantage of a new Selected Photos option for photo permissions. Let’s say you want to share one or more photos with a friend on a messaging app. Instead of giving the app access to all the photos stored on your device, you can limit access to just the photos you want to share.

How to Limit Access to Photos for Apps in iOS & iPadOS

Limiting photo access can be done on a per-app basis within settings. Make sure your device is running iOS 14/iPadOS 14 or later and simply follow the steps below carefully.

1. Head over to “Settings” from the home screen of your iPhone.
   
   
2. In the settings menu, scroll down and find the app that you want to limit photo access for. Tap on it to continue.
   
   
3. Here, tap on the “Photos” option located right at the top of the menu.
   
   
4. Now, you can set “Selected Photos” as the photo permissions setting for that particular app. Once you select this option, you’ll be able to choose the photos you want to share with the app. Tap on “Edit Selected Photos” to get started.
   
   
5. This will launch your photo library. Select the photos you want to share and tap on “Done”. When you attempt to share pictures on an app using the Selected Photos permission, you’ll automatically be taken to this menu. Therefore, it’s not necessary to perform this step in settings.
   
   

Although we were focusing primarily on iPhone and iOS 14, you can follow the exact same steps to limit third-party access to the Photos app on your iPad running iPadOS 14 too. Keep in mind that you’ll need to change this setting for each app individually.

Thanks to this feature, you have total control over the third-party apps that can access the photos stored in your library. Apps no longer need full access to the Photos app to be able to share your images and videos. Once you install and launch a new app, you’ll be able to choose this option when it requests permission to access your photo library.

Apart from this, there are several other privacy features available too. Some of the notable ones include the ability to block app tracking, use private addresses for Wi-Fi networks, and even a new Precise Location setting to safeguard your privacy.

What do you think of the ability to limit apps access to your photos library? Do you use this feature selectively? Let us know your thoughts and opinions.