Privacy & security

iPhone app only shows some photos? Add photos to its limited access

The short answer

If you can see the photo in Photos but the app shows only a small selection, open Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos and select the app. If it has Limited Access, edit its selection and add the photo you need.

01Change which photos the app can see

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Look for the option to edit the selected photos under the app’s limited access setting. Select the missing photo, confirm the selection, then return to the app and reopen its photo view. For example, you can add the receipt you want to upload while keeping the rest of your library private.

02Use the system picker for a single attachment

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Some apps use Apple’s photo picker. If the app’s attachment button opens that picker and the photo is available there, select it and finish the attachment. The picker passes the selected items to the app without granting access to the whole library. An app that only uses this picker may have no photo-library permission to change in Settings.

03Check where the photo is missing

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Open the photo in Apple’s Photos app first. If it appears there but still doesn’t appear in the app after you add it, reopen the attachment picker and check whether that screen accepts the kind of item you selected, such as a video. Use Full Access only if the app needs to browse the entire library for the task you want it to perform.

Sources & further reading

Put it into practice

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