An app should use a profile picture or a few shots, not your entire photo library? On iPad you can limit requested photo access. Persistent library permission and selecting individual pictures through the system picker are different methods. These steps follow recent iPadOS versions; exact labels depend on the version and app.
Find the current permission
Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos and select the app. The list contains apps that have requested access. A missing app is not automatically a fault: it may not have requested library permission yet, or may use only the system photo picker.
Choose an appropriate scope
- No access: This permission does not give the app library access. Previously imported copies are not automatically deleted.
- Limited access or selected photos: Through library access, the app can use only the allowed selection. Start with a few noncritical pictures.
- Full access: Choose this only if the desired feature really requires broad permission and you deliberately want to allow it.
- Add photos only: Some apps request only permission to save new pictures. That is not permission to browse existing photos.
Not every app offers every option. If full access is currently enabled, choose the limited option and confirm your selection. The setting applies to this app, not to all apps at once.
Change the selection and check the result
- In the app’s photo permissions, open the option for editing selected photos. Add a noncritical test picture and, if needed, remove another from the selection.
- Return to the app and reopen its own library view. Check that the newly allowed picture is available. Changing the selection does not delete the original from Photos.
- Separately check whether the app has already imported its own copy. Revoking permission does not reliably recall such copies or files already uploaded; the app’s storage and account features govern those.
Do not confuse the system picker with full access
An app can open Apple’s photo picker without requesting persistent library access. In that system dialog you may see more pictures than the app itself can read. Only the pictures you select are passed to the app. Seeing the entire collection in the picker therefore does not prove that the app has full access.
If pictures are still missing
Check the selection, download of an iCloud photo and formats supported by the app. Camera and microphone permissions are separate settings; limiting photo access does not replace them. If Screen Time or device management prevents changes, contact the responsible person instead of bypassing restrictions. Do not hastily grant full access or delete an app containing unbacked-up local data.