QuizUp can access Photo library without permission - guess other apps can too

[anyjungleinguy]

As title.

Downloaded QuizUp, ran through setup wizard, part of which was to chose a profile photo.

It displayed full camera roll and all photos without any given permission. As you can see in the screenshot of the Settings panel, Photos isn’t even listed to select Read/Write access.

I thought Apple was supposed to have system level restrictions on accessing Photos. I guess if QuizUp can bypass this, so can plenty of other apps.

 

[anzio]

They’re just using a photo picker. As detailed here, apps don’t need explicit permission when showing a user his photo library, because it’s just iOS presenting the library to the user. The app only receives the photo you choose when you finally follow through. The app isn’t seeing your library at all, so it won’t request permission.

This is the behaviour as of iOS 11. It’s a sandboxed process now.

Note

When using the UIImagePickerController to bring up the user's photo library, your app doesn't need to request permission explicitly.

 

[anyjungleinguy]

They’re just using a photo picker. As detailed here, apps don’t need explicit permission when showing a user his photo library, because it’s just iOS presenting the library to the user. The app only receives the photo you choose when you finally follow through. The app isn’t seeing your library at all, so it won’t request permission.

This is the behaviour as of iOS 11. It’s a sandboxed process now.

I never knew this, didn’t hear about the updated process.

Thank you!

 

[anzio]

I never knew this, didn’t hear about the updated process.

Thank you!

You're welcome. It's a great question though, because it definitely would be concerning at first glance! Glad I could help ease your mind