How to Limit Third-Party Access to Photos App in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14

Aug. 14, 2020



Beyond a range of appreciable features, probably the best part aboutiOS 14is the enhanced privacy. Be it thebetter control over tracking,restricting apps’ access to the local network, orpreventing apps from having access to your precise location, the latest iteration of iOS appears to be a firm favorite for those who put privacy right at the top. Another feature worth taking note of is the ability to limit third-party access to Photos app in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. If you are yet to try out how it works, let me guide you through!

Restrict Third-Party Access to iPhone/iPad Photos App

Restrict Third-Party Access to iPhone/iPad Photos App

With iOS 14, you can choose to allow apps to access only specific photos and videos. Yeah, that’s true! Third-party apps don’t need to have the permission to access your entire photo library even if you want to upload/share only a few shots.

What’s more, at any time you want to revoke third-party access to your photo library on your iOS 14 device or edit selected photos access, you can do so without any hassle.

  1. Openthe appwhich Photos app access you want to restrict.

  2. Now, you will get a pop-up about the photos app access. Tap onSelect Photos in the popup menu.

  3. Next, choose the photos which you want to be always accessible. After that, tap onDoneat the top right confirm.

Going forward, the app will have access to only these images, unless of course, you choose to let it access more images.

If you ever want to let the app have access to more photos, launch it. After that, choose “Select More Photos” when uploading/sharing images.

Based on your needs, you can completely revoke third-party apps’ access to your photos or edit the selected images to allow/disallow specific images.

  1. Launch theSettingsapp on your iPhone or iPad.

  2. Now, scroll down and choosePrivacy.

  3. Next, tap onPhotos.

  4. Next up, you should see the list of all the apps which have access to your photo library. Tap onthe appin question.

Control Third-Party Access to Photos App

Under ALLOW PHOTOS ACCESS, you have three options:

Choose the preferred option as per your need.

Edit Selected Photos Access of Third-Party

If you want to edit the selected photos access of a third-party, tap onEdit Selected Photos.After that, select/deselect photos and then tap on Done at the top right corner to confirm.

Note:

So, that’s the way you can control third-party access to the photo library on your iPhone and iPad. It’s indeed a very helpful feature and I’m sure you would truly appreciate it from the privacy perspective.

What do you have to say about iOS 14 and its wide range of eye-grabbing features includingapp library,widgets, andback tap gesture? It would be great to have your feedback in the comments below.

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.

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