App permissions
Also known as: permissions, app access, privacy permissions, allow access
App permissions are the approvals an app must request before reaching sensitive data or hardware — photos, contacts, location, camera, microphone. You grant or revoke them per app, and reviewing them is one of the easiest privacy wins.
- Gate access to photos, contacts, location, and more
- iOS: Settings > Privacy & Security; Android: per-app
- Choose selected photos over full-library access
What permissions control
Phones gate access to sensitive resources behind your explicit consent: Photos, Contacts, Location, Camera, Microphone, and more. An app cannot reach them until you allow it, and many now offer limited options — for example, granting access to selected photos rather than your whole library.
On iOS you review these in Settings > Privacy & Security, then pick a category to see every app that requested it. On Android they live under Settings > Apps > [app] > Permissions, or in the privacy dashboard.
Why and how to review them
Permissions creep over time, and an app that needed location once may keep it indefinitely. Periodically revoking access you no longer use — especially camera, microphone, and full photo-library access — limits how much data an app can collect.
Granting selected photos instead of full access is a good default for editors and sharing apps. A cleaner or file tool generally needs photo access to do its job, but you can scope it down and change it any time.