How to See Which Apps Have Access to Your Photos on iPhone

To see which apps can access your photos on an iPhone, open Settings, tap Privacy & Security, then tap Photos. Every app that has asked for your photo library is listed there with its current access level, and you can tap any app to change it.

These steps are written for iOS 27 and also match iOS 26 and iOS 18 on any iPhone that runs them. iOS 17 uses the same Privacy & Security route and the same access names. The original iPhone 5 can’t run any of these versions, so its older layout is covered in the FAQ. Apple explains the privacy settings in its guide to controlling access to information in apps.

Check Which Apps Can See Your Photos

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Privacy & Security.
3. Tap Photos. You’ll see a list of apps that have requested photo access, with each app’s current level shown under or beside its name.

4. Tap an app to open its photo permission screen.
5. Choose the level you want: None, Limited Access, Add Photos Only (only shown for apps that ask for it), or Full Access. The check mark moves to your choice and the change takes effect right away. You don’t need to restart the app or the iPhone.

6. Tap the back arrow to return to the list and review the next app.

There’s no single switch that changes every app at once, so go through the list one app at a time. Start with apps marked Full Access, since those can see your whole library.

You can also reach the same setting from an app’s own page. Go to Settings > Apps, tap the app, then tap Photos. This is handy when you already know which app you want to check. Both routes change the same permission.

What Each Access Level Means

Level	What the app can do
None	The app can’t see or browse your library.
Limited Access	The app can see only the photos and videos you pick.
Add Photos Only	The app can save new photos to your library but can’t view what’s already there.
Full Access	The app can see every photo and video in your library, including details such as dates and locations.

Full Access reaches further than many people expect. Apple’s Photos and privacy page says it includes your hidden photos, even when the Hidden album is locked. If you keep sensitive pictures in the Hidden album, an app with Full Access can still read them.

A few practical guidelines:

• Social and messaging apps usually work fine with Limited Access. You pick the few pictures you want to post, and the rest of your library stays private.
• Camera, editing, or AI image apps that only save their results often need nothing more than Add Photos Only. For a game example, you can stop Pokémon GO from saving pictures to your camera roll.
• Backup apps like Google Photos, Dropbox, or Amazon Photos need Full Access to back up your whole library. With anything less, they only back up what you allow.

Changing an app to None doesn’t delete anything. Your photos stay on your iPhone, and any picture you already uploaded to that app or its service stays there. To remove those, delete them inside the app or on the service’s website.

Choose Exactly Which Photos an App Can See

If you pick Limited Access, you decide which photos the app gets.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos and tap the app.
2. Tap Limited Access. Your library opens in a picker.
3. Tap the photos and videos you want the app to see. A check mark appears on each one.
4. Tap Done. The app’s entry now shows Limited Access.

To change the selection later, return to the same screen and tap Edit Selected Photos. Add new pictures, tap selected ones to remove them, and tap Done. Then reopen the app so it picks up the new selection.

Apps may also prompt you to select more photos when you try to upload something outside your selection. Tapping through that prompt adds the new items without granting Full Access.

Choose the Right Level When an App First Asks

The first time an app wants your library, a prompt appears with the same choices as Settings, such as limiting access to selected photos or allowing full access. If you’re not sure, pick the limited option. You can raise it later in Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos if a feature stops working, but you can’t take back what an app has already read or uploaded while it had Full Access.

From time to time, your iPhone also shows a reminder about an app that has Full Access, with the number of photos and videos it can see. The reminder lets you keep Full Access or switch to Limited Access. It’s a normal privacy notice, not a sign that something is wrong.

Why an App You Use Isn’t on the List

The list only shows apps that have asked for library permission. An app can be missing for two common reasons:

• It uses Apple’s photo picker. Many apps let you choose a picture through a system picker that runs separately from the app. The app only receives the items you tap, so it never needs library permission and never shows up in the list. Developers can read how it works in Apple’s photo picker documentation.
• It hasn’t asked yet. Some apps request access the first time you use an upload or save feature. When the prompt appears, you get the same choices as in Settings.

If an app is listed but the options are grayed out, photo changes may be locked in Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. On a child’s iPhone, the parent or guardian who set up Screen Time decides this setting. On a work or school iPhone, your organization may manage it, so ask its IT team.

Review All App Access With Safety Check

If you want to review apps and the information they can reach in one place, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check, then tap Manage Sharing & Access. Apple’s Safety Check guide explains that you can review by app or by type of information and stop sharing as you go. Skip Emergency Reset unless you need it: it resets sharing for all people and apps at once, so you’d have to grant permissions again in every app that needs them.

Check Contacts, Camera, and Other Permissions

The same screen pattern covers your other private data. In Settings > Privacy & Security, tap any category to see which apps have asked for it:

• Contacts: choose None, Limited Access, or Full Access. With Limited Access, tap Edit Selected Contacts to pick the people an app can see. Apple’s Contacts access guide covers these choices.
• Camera and Microphone: each app has an on/off switch. Photo access and camera access are separate, so an app can take pictures without seeing your library. For example, you can allow Chrome to use the camera on iPhone.
• Location Services: controls whether an app can see where you are. You can also turn Location Services on or off for one app.

For a broader look, scroll to the bottom of Privacy & Security and tap App Privacy Report. After you turn it on, it records when apps accessed your photos, contacts, camera, and other data over the past week, which helps you spot an app that’s reading your library more often than you’d expect.

Frequently Asked Questions