Which apps can see your iPhone photos?
Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos. Apple says this lists the apps that have access to your photos, and you can grant or remove permission for any app that has asked. Remove access from anything that does not need it, then turn on App Privacy Report to see what apps do next.
Review the list
- Open Settings, then Privacy & Security.
- Tap Photos. You see the apps that have asked for access.
- Tap an app to change its access. The app's level of access to your library can be changed or removed.
An app appears here only after it has asked. If an app is missing, it has not requested your photos, or it only uses the system picker for one-off choices. Apps you have deleted no longer appear.
Which apps to question first: anything that has no reason to read photos (a game, a shopping app, a utility), and anything you installed years ago and forgot. Where an app does need pictures, the smaller choice is to share only selected photos.
See what apps actually did
Photos permission tells you what an app may do. App Privacy Report tells you what it did. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to App Privacy Report and turn it on (iOS 15.2 or later). Apple says it shows how many times and when an app accessed privacy-sensitive data or sensors, such as Photos, in the past 7 days, and which domains apps contacted. It records only from the moment you switch it on, covers a rolling seven days, and turning it off clears the data.
Apple adds a useful caution: an app may have access to data without the developer collecting it. The report shows access, not intent.
What this does not cover
- Photos you already sent to an app stay with that app.
- The list covers apps on this phone, not what happens in an account you hold elsewhere. Apple notes that for third-party apps you must sign in to the account and change settings there.
- Shared albums and Apple's own Photos features have their own controls.
How StrongRoom fits in
StrongRoom does not ask for your whole library. To import, it opens the system photo picker, and the app sees only the photos and videos you pick each time. You can also add any file from Files, or take a photo inside the Vault so it never enters your photo library. Import and scan photos, videos and files
Read the limits before you rely on it.
Frequently asked questions
Why is an app not on the Photos list?
Apple says an app appears only after it has asked for permission. If it never asked, there is nothing to change.
Does removing access delete the app's copies of my photos?
No. It stops future access. Anything the app already copied or uploaded stays where the app put it.
Does App Privacy Report show everything?
It shows access to data and sensors and the domains contacted over the past seven days, from the moment you turned it on. Apple notes access does not always mean collection.
Sources
- App privacy features in Apple products (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
- See which apps have access to your data with App Privacy Report (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.