Fix It: When iPhone Won’t Allow Apps Access to Your Photos
Update 09/27/17: iOS has updated several times since this post published; a simple reboot – turn your phone off and then on again – may be all you need to restore access to your photos. If that doesn’t work, read on for another trick that worked for me.
I wanted to Instagram but the app kept telling me it needed access to my photos. It told me to enable this in the setting Privacy -> Photos.
Navigating to this screen, it said “Apps that have requested access to your photos will appear here”.
But there were no apps. Zippo.
I tried several things, including turning the phone off and on, deleting Instagram and re-installing, attempting to change my Instagram profile picture to prompt it to request access to my photos, and confirming that the setting under General -> Restrictions -> Privacy -> Photos was set to “Allow Changes”.
Nothing worked, until I did this:
- Go to the setting General -> Reset -> Reset Location & Privacy.
- Enter your passcode and follow prompt to reset Location & Privacy.
- Login to Instagram, and take a photo.
- Follow prompts to allow access to your camera and photos.
- Microphone and location can be allowed as well, if you like.
Happy Instagraming!
Patricia Blomeley-Maddigan
01/07/2015 at 4:31 pmZippo!!!
Still zero apps requesting access to my photos. Instagram asked for camera access, but not for photo.
I am going crazy!!
Do you have anything up your sleeve, Digital Zen??
Thank you,
Patricia
Samantha
01/09/2015 at 10:22 amBummer! You did the reset, and made sure General -> Restrictions -> Privacy -> Photos was set to “Allow Changes”? Are you trying this with Instagram or some other app? Maybe try using photos in a different app, like Contacts, will prompt your iPhone to behave better. Try adding a photo to a contact, tell me what happens.
Keekoo
03/14/2015 at 11:03 pmI tried the contact photo and still nothing!!!!
Kehlani
07/16/2017 at 3:14 pmJust power off your phone for a little minute and turn it back on and it should work that’s how I fixed mines
Kristy Brooks
10/12/2017 at 8:05 pmThis works!
shreya manandhar
02/05/2018 at 7:50 pmyes, same in my case
Macarena
02/18/2018 at 11:53 amHello, how are you?
First at all, thank you for this space!. Im having exactly the same problem and I’m really concern because I can’t upload my pictures in Facebook and Instagram and I’m travelling. I know the answer is written by you but is cut it and I’m not able to read it completely.
If you could help, telling me how can I fix it, I will be super greatful! Thank you so much again 😄
Kaitlyn Young
03/12/2018 at 10:40 pmit worked!!
lalaland
05/09/2018 at 10:59 amworks ! Thank you!
Emily Cummings
07/24/2019 at 5:05 pmTHANK YOU SO MUCH @Kehlani – wow. I was getting super frustrated because my iPhone would not let me give any apps access to my photos. Turning it on and then off again should seriously always be the first thing I try. How could I forget. THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER THAT THIS SOLVES MOST EVERYTHING!
ROSA
11/11/2019 at 7:01 amOMG THANK YOU SO MUCH! IT WORKED FOR ME AHAHA
TANI
11/18/2019 at 12:58 amAWESOME!
Thanks KEHLANI!
Yang One
11/21/2019 at 5:47 amThanks! I can see my contacts names again:)
Drew B
12/19/2019 at 2:39 pmyeah this worked for me too and I was about to get really upset considering I have a bunch of snapstreaks that would’ve died if I didn’t get into snapchat. this is the solution
:)
01/09/2020 at 3:05 pmoh my god, bless. this worked for me, ty!
Crys
05/09/2020 at 10:50 pmIf I could have the opportunity have you front me I’d give a big hug. THANKS MAN
Gabby
06/04/2020 at 2:44 pmOmg this actually worked wow. Turning it off then on actually worked LOL (I did the location reset prior and nothing happened)
chelsea
06/12/2020 at 2:14 amI tried it and it worked! Thank you so much! I was freaking out for over an hour so thank you so much
Kyle Macahis
08/27/2020 at 4:39 amThis works for me. It drives me crazy coz I have exhausted all the resources and still nothing happened. So I tried to turn off my phone and turn it on and surprisingly it works. Thank you
tin
09/22/2020 at 4:53 amWow it did really works on my iphone 6s by just shutting it down. I have tried resetting my privacy and location and no changes. Thank you i have found your commment <3
Isa
05/03/2022 at 6:38 pmI was despairing after resetting privacy and location settings didn’t work and almost cried thinking my old phone had finally kicked the bucket. Somehow something legit as simple as just restarting my phone fixed it. Thank you so much.
J4
08/30/2023 at 7:10 pmYooo this worked 😂🙏🫶🏽🫵🏾‼️
Sydney
04/19/2020 at 4:55 pmWhen I click “enable library, camera and microphone access” in Instagram, it brings me to settings. I’m supposed to turn on “camera” but there is no option to.
Vicki
05/02/2020 at 9:08 pmme too!
Wes
05/03/2020 at 8:07 pmGo to Screen Time. Select Content & Privacy Restrictions. Turn it off. Start app and grant permission. Then turn it back on.
Mari
05/17/2020 at 7:50 pmI did what you said and nothing still asking for the same thing and photos and camera icons don’t appear when allowing Instagram to
Ritchie
06/16/2020 at 5:00 amSame issue still persist here after testing out with all the options mentioned above. Anyone has other idea how to go around with this? Photo, Contact apps tend not to launch apparently after clicking on them too.
Mayada Salem
02/13/2022 at 5:26 pmThis is the only thing that worked! Thank you so much!!
Sonal
09/03/2017 at 8:08 amYou r awesome thank u so much my problem is solved
Samantha
09/03/2017 at 11:44 amSo glad this worked for you, Sonal. Thanks for writing in!
Debbie
09/05/2017 at 6:45 pmWhat about when the i-phone won’t allow access to contacts? Any advice?
Chloe
12/03/2017 at 6:19 amMy snapchat is coming up with oops this is a camera app, to continue, you need the allow camera access in settings…. but everything is up to do nothings changed at all, I’ve had my phone over a year and used snapchat for the past 6 years… please Can u help me sort this out I’ve tried your advice with someone else’s and it still has not worked
Macarena
02/18/2018 at 11:50 amHello Samantha, how are you?
First at all, thank you for this space!. Im having exactly the same problem and I’m really concern because I can’t upload my pictures in Facebook and Instagram and I’m travelling. I know the answer is written a little bit up, but is cut it and I’m not able to read it completely.
If you could help, telling me how can I fix it, I will be super greatful! Thank you so much again 😄
Anis
03/07/2018 at 1:27 pmHello, I did everything that you told but it doesn’t work yet. Could you help me
Brian
05/04/2019 at 11:36 pmIt didn’t work for me
Laura
10/10/2017 at 9:46 amI want to thank you! I have been struggling with this problem since installing IOS 11. I forgot all about the restrictions! This solved my problem not being able to post photos to Facebook!
Samantha
10/10/2017 at 9:51 amGlad I could help! Thanks for letting me know this worked for you.
PJ
11/07/2017 at 3:08 pmI am unable to add photos to Facebook posts. I get a messsge to go to privacy settings on phone and allow access to photos but when I try to do that “photos” does not appear as a choice neither do I get s message that FB is an app that has requested access so there is nothing to turn on. I have turned phone off & on & updated operating system & FB app and nothing helps. Amy suggestions?
Wisdom
01/15/2021 at 7:06 pmMine didn’t work out why ?
Wil
11/20/2017 at 7:45 amThank you so much Samantha it worked like a charm for me .
Samantha
11/20/2017 at 1:28 pmThanks for writing in Wil, glad this worked for you!
Munir
11/26/2017 at 9:25 pmMy WhatsApp is giving me the same issue
I don’t see others profile picture when they call me
Munir
11/26/2017 at 9:29 pmWhen I do the steps mentioned in the post and after resetting and restarting.it asked me to allow access to photos.gave access but when I go in general and privacy settings under photo , I saw for WhatsApp two options .
1.Read and Write
2.Never
Eleanor
03/09/2018 at 3:52 amYou’re the best Sam !! Thanks for helping
Ollie
12/20/2017 at 6:44 pmIt worked for me!
Thank You Samantha!
Samantha
12/24/2017 at 11:01 amI’m so glad, thanks for letting us know!
karen jones
07/24/2018 at 6:56 pmi still can’t find a source that will allow me to have a microphone in all messages contacts. some of my contacts i have a mic, some others don’t! i can’t find a correct source to help me.
Rhianna
12/23/2018 at 10:32 pmHello.
I don’t really know how to explain but I’ve just recently downloaded two apps and the need photo access, when I go into setting to allow access the apps aren’t even there, like I never installed them. It’s driving me CRAZY for the past hour, do you have a solution?
Thank you,
Rhianna~ :3
Leyah
04/01/2019 at 8:16 pmIt doesn’t work for Tik Tok or Videoshop 🙁
Cindy
04/21/2019 at 10:41 amIt worked for me with my new ipad! It wasn’t allow Facebook access and viola! Thanks so much!
Adaeze
09/03/2019 at 2:47 pmI have tried both but it’s not working please help me!
Mark Wild
09/27/2019 at 2:21 amIs there a 2019 version of this solution?
Christiana
02/24/2020 at 6:18 pmIt still didn’t work😭
Piper
06/23/2020 at 11:57 amNone of the apps show up there when I do that
Shirlee
01/11/2021 at 1:37 amI can’t get my phone to let MeWe access my photos. I’ve tried what you’ve suggested but nothing.
Noer
12/18/2015 at 2:45 pmGo to settings , general , restrictions and go to photos where you can check “Allow changes” . Only then the apps will have acess
Thaddeus Rex
12/30/2015 at 10:07 amDoesn’t work
Katie
02/27/2016 at 10:38 amall u have to do is go to settings, general, reset, then reset location and privacy, after that power off ur phone for a few seconds and turn it back on and it works!
Ciara
03/02/2016 at 8:42 amThank you so much my problem has solve😊
Jas
11/07/2016 at 10:17 pmTHANK YOU SOOOO MUCHH
Oscar
04/14/2017 at 1:48 pmThanks so much it worked
Kirstin
04/24/2017 at 11:14 amMine still doesn’t work..?
Lailai
06/08/2017 at 11:25 pmThanks! It worked 🙂
Angel Antoinette
08/30/2017 at 10:06 pmIt WORKED! IT WORKED! IT WORKED!! You guyss!! Yayyyyyy!!! Thank you!!!
Eden Smith
02/12/2017 at 6:45 amWhen I go onto Snapchat it keeps telling me to go onto settings and change my access to my photos but when I go to settings it already on
mari
07/30/2018 at 11:41 amsame
Sixta
07/02/2017 at 1:16 amThank you it worked 😆
Kyung Yu
10/14/2017 at 12:47 amHoly cow! I spent 2 hours trying to get this to work and finally this was it! You are my hero!!!!! Gratitude.
Samantha
10/16/2017 at 10:15 amSo glad this post helped you! Thanks for writing in.
Nohealani
11/26/2017 at 6:08 amThx it worked
Diego
11/26/2016 at 10:20 amEureka!
To that problem I address a knew way to solve it. You don’t need to do anything involving using settings. Just tap the home and power button three times BUT ON THE 3rd TAP HOLD IT. (this is a method for restarting the phone). Please tell me if it worked or not.
Madalyn
12/16/2017 at 8:11 amYes! I’ve have Snapchat for over 1 year now and all of a sudden it says to “allow camera access” it takes me to Snapchat settings and it doesn’t say anything about camera. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY TIPS?!?
alex
04/27/2020 at 6:10 pmThats what happened with tik tok!!
Victoria Whetstine
04/12/2018 at 3:44 pmDid you try to restart your iphone?
Ellen hake
05/18/2018 at 11:09 pmYou need the new update for iOS. It fixed my phone and now I’m all good
Madalyn Mahoney
12/10/2018 at 5:12 pmSame
Ranay
02/26/2019 at 9:08 pmYa! It dosn’t ley meh!
Gina Gray
11/02/2019 at 5:36 amOMG!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christopher Timm
01/01/2020 at 12:16 amDid you find anything? I need snapchat to access my photos and it will only ask for camera access
Bill Johnson
09/29/2020 at 2:12 pmFollow these steps to grant apps access to your photos on iPhone:
Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Photos > Make sure it’s set to “Allow changes”
In the app you’re trying to grant access to your photos, try accessing your photos again; It should prompt you to give permission; Accept
Now back in Settings > Privacy > Photos, you should see the app and you can give it Read/Write permissions, for example
If you still don’t see the app in Settings > Privacy > Photos, here’s another trick that may work (this worked for WhatsApp): Take a screenshot; Click share; Share to WhatsApp; If prompted, accept granting permissions to access your photos; At this point, WhatsApp was already able to access the photos, no need to go back into Settings > Privacy > Photos
Note: This solution is confirmed to work for iOS 12 as of May 2020.
Olivia
04/04/2015 at 1:22 pmHi I am trying to post a picture on Instagram and it says I have to enable camera access and I have tried every single thing I can possibly do and it still won’t let me post a picture on Instagram please please help me thanks
Noer
12/18/2015 at 2:46 pmPlease see my comment of December 18 . I think this might help
Bill Johnson
09/29/2020 at 2:13 pmFollow these steps to grant apps access to your photos on iPhone:
Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Photos > Make sure it’s set to “Allow changes”
In the app you’re trying to grant access to your photos, try accessing your photos again; It should prompt you to give permission; Accept
Now back in Settings > Privacy > Photos, you should see the app and you can give it Read/Write permissions, for example
If you still don’t see the app in Settings > Privacy > Photos, here’s another trick that may work (this worked for WhatsApp): Take a screenshot; Click share; Share to WhatsApp; If prompted, accept granting permissions to access your photos; At this point, WhatsApp was already able to access the photos, no need to go back into Settings > Privacy > Photos
Note: This solution is confirmed to work for iOS 12 as of May 2020.
Mick
09/07/2021 at 7:33 amSpot on it worked for me
Kee
04/11/2015 at 5:01 pmI had the same issue the best thing I did to solve this problem is I went to the restrictions tab and turned it off
Corien
04/29/2015 at 5:40 pmDo all the things in the previous comments, then turn your phone off and back on.
Iaysh
04/14/2017 at 12:02 pmBest method turn your phone off then restart it👍🏻
QueenK
05/25/2015 at 4:13 pmHey, My name is Kristianna also known as Kris and I having problems with my iPhone it won’t allow apps to access my photos and it keeps freezing and restarting itself and randomly exiting out of apps and when I go to my photos there’s usually nothing there.
Sidrah
02/05/2016 at 9:39 pmThis is exactly what is happening to my iPhone 4s… I can’t figure out if it has to do with the fact that my phone is out dated or if it has something to do with the wifi?? I need help!!
Kirsty
05/31/2015 at 4:02 amI tried your reset location thing above but sadly no joy. I can access my camera and take a photo through Instagram however rather annoyingly I cannot access any of my saved photos in an album or photo stream through Instagram. Any suggestions?
Jcooper12
12/30/2018 at 5:15 pmdid you ever solve this problem I’m having this same problem and I need help please lmk ASAP
jenn
07/11/2015 at 10:40 amhey my instagram says i need to enable access to my photos in order to post things and it seems like nothing is working ive tried deleting and re-installing the instagram app and its not working and i tried turning restrictions off and turning it back on so could anyone please help? thanks
Anna Grace
07/13/2015 at 6:06 pmWhen you do what you said to do, will it hurt you’re phone in any way, like does it mess with a lot of stuff or is it easy to fix again?
Samantha
07/20/2015 at 8:36 pmI can’t say exactly what this setting will do to every app on your phone. But when I reset Location & Privacy on my phone it did not have any negative side effects. Good luck!
Alison
07/06/2019 at 1:17 pmI could not upload a video to Facebook, although it worked before; saw it had not asked to have access to Photos, in Privacy, or Photos. Looked at all the suggestions, tried all, no change, then finally went to do the reset Location and Privacy, and restart, but now ALL the other apps which had asked. Now NONE are there, I don’t know how many 6 or 8 apps, and now another new set of problems.
Pat
07/20/2015 at 4:56 pmThank you so much!!!! Followed your directions and it worked.
Samantha
07/20/2015 at 8:34 pmthanks Pat for letting me know. glad it worked!
Lisa
07/26/2015 at 6:57 pmworked, thank you!!
Samantha
07/27/2015 at 12:51 pmGreat, thanks for letting me know!
Samantha Metekingi
08/26/2015 at 4:31 amIt hasn’t worked for me so how did it work for you?
Fun size
09/06/2015 at 12:10 pmIf you go into settings-general-restrictions put in 4 digit passcode -photos in check the box then it will allow you to do so.
Susannah
02/16/2018 at 7:32 pmTHIS IS WHAT WORKED!!!! FINALLY!! Thank you!
MPD
09/13/2015 at 12:47 pmThanks so much. You solved my problems. It was the restrictions that needed to be disabled and once I did this, all was great!
Samantha
09/14/2015 at 1:15 pmGlad it worked! Thanks for writing in 🙂
Stephanie
10/18/2015 at 4:45 pmThis helped!! Thank you!
Leanne
10/24/2015 at 11:37 pmPower your phone completely off then back on again. That’s what worked for me😊
Samantha
10/25/2015 at 1:18 amGlad that worked! This didn’t do the trick for me, but you’re right, often it does! I should have mentioned that it’s a good idea to try the simple reboot first. Thanks for sharing!
Gareth
11/17/2015 at 5:36 pmCouldn’t save anything from Twitter and tried everything. This finally solved it. Thank you!!
Samantha
11/19/2015 at 10:06 amGreat! Thanks for writing in 🙂
Ryan Scheffert
11/23/2015 at 10:10 amHey, I tried this on my iPod 4 because Minecraft PE couldn’t access my photos, which I need to do because I want to change my MCPE skin. I am using an iPod 4th gen, running iOS 6.1.6. Please help
Samantha
11/24/2015 at 4:58 pmRyan, is it only Minecraft that can’t access photos or all your apps? Try deleting the app and adding again. I believe this tip was written when I was running iOS 8x. I’m not familiar with iPod, so not sure I can be of much help… sorry 🙁
Orla
11/23/2015 at 12:49 pmArgh. I have tried everything!! Still no luck. I have no camera on any of my apps and I have been trying to work it for the past three days😫 I have tried going through my restrictions in the settings but everything is turned on. Any help???
Samantha
11/24/2015 at 5:20 pmNoer
12/18/2015 at 2:43 pmGuys I found the solution for when you can’t get access to photos . Go to settings > General> Restructions> And under photos , check “Allow changes”
Only then apps will have acess to the photos
Chloe Cunningham
12/29/2015 at 5:22 pmI just went onto my snapchat account about a half hour ago,and it said I need to allow access to photos,so it took me to settings but there was no option to allow access,then went to Instagram and it wouldn’t let me upload a photo because I need access,but again it wouldn’t let me allow it. I tried switching on restrictions and off,deleting the apps,resetting the location and privacy but still no luck. If anyone knows of a way to fix this it would be much appreciated.
brooke kjar
01/05/2016 at 9:39 pmI’m having this exact same issue. so frustrating help please.
Rayne
01/07/2016 at 6:34 pmThanks it’s worked for mine
Samantha
01/19/2016 at 10:34 amGreat! thanks for writing in.
Steve
01/14/2016 at 12:35 amHad same issue. Very frustrating. I had enabled restrictions and made sure everything was allowed. Did the locations and privacy reset. Disabled restrictions then rebooted the phone. This allowed all the apps to access camera, contacts, photos etc.
Samantha
01/19/2016 at 10:34 amYes so frustrating I know! Glad this worked out for you too.
Kafui Gbetroh
01/19/2016 at 10:27 amHi there… I have solved my problem. Thanks to you. The best solution to this annoying situation is to reset the privacy and location settings. There is no negative effects but rather it gives u the chance to allow or not allow the app to access your camera, photos and microphone. Thanks one again bro
Samantha
01/19/2016 at 10:33 amYou’re welcome Kafui! Glad this worked for you.
Steve
01/27/2016 at 2:01 pmTurning phone on and off after reset phone and location settings really does work
Brianna Welch
02/01/2016 at 5:01 pmI’m trying to get on things like Musical.ly, Instagram, and stuff like that and whenever I try to shoot something, take a picture, or even post something, it doesn’t work!!! It says “Let us access camera.” And it gives me options whether to say “OK” or “Go To Settings” and when I click “Go To Settings” The camera access won’t pop up! It’s not there! Please help! 😱
Sidrah
02/05/2016 at 9:37 pmI am having the exact same problem
Anon😊
02/07/2016 at 4:43 amWell, after I reseted the location services, I tried Turing on & off restrictions, which didn’t work. I turn on and off “allow changes” which didn’t work. I didn’t delete and re-download the apps though. But after trying everything, I simply just shut down my phone and turn it back on. I went to snapchat, and I could finally take pictures. And settings>privacy>photos had snapchat and the rest of the apps on it!
crstsrvn
02/13/2016 at 7:02 pmResetting locations and privacy and then turning my phone off and back on worked for me. THANK YOU! I spent the majority of the day trying to problem solve this. And here it was so simple! Blessings upon you! 🙂
Samantha
02/16/2016 at 2:20 pmSo glad I could help!
Broken101
02/20/2016 at 3:27 pmWill it actually reset any data?
Broken101
02/20/2016 at 3:31 pmTried it TWICE! Didn’t work :/ Maybe because I’m using iPad? I don’t know, but it’s annoying ;3;
Bssbb
02/28/2016 at 1:38 pmDo everything above turn phone off it works !
Debbie
06/28/2017 at 11:58 amI wish that it DID work! I have done the above hundreds of times on my iPhone 6 and this seems to be the ONLY suggestion/solution offered.
jada
12/30/2018 at 5:15 pmsameeee did you find a solution to the problem please lmk I would really appreciate it
May
02/29/2016 at 12:33 amEy guys I have the same problem and how do you reset your phone?
Or on&off it?
Won’t I lose any of my data and saved items?
Pls help me!
Jasmine
07/14/2017 at 2:21 amNo you wont, only press the bottom one though
Chardonay
03/01/2016 at 10:02 pmLook it work first u turn off your turn off restrictions then go to general and the go to reset click it press your code then reset your settings and private and then confirm it then turn it off then turn back on and then bam
May
03/09/2016 at 5:35 amThanks man😘
Zhane
03/20/2016 at 10:29 pmUmm please help me 😒 I can’t seem to view the apps when I go to privacy, then an app for example microphone then it opens and I cannot view anything which should be to turn it on😑 Pls help me!
Prince Khan
09/24/2016 at 2:20 amSamanth Thanks a lot.
It fixed my problem.
Clare
10/18/2016 at 7:25 amThank you – so glad I found your article it saved the day 🙂
Samantha
10/18/2016 at 9:32 amSo glad it helped you! Thanks for writing in.
Laraib
12/09/2016 at 3:41 amI’ve been trying to two days now I’ve tried everything , every time I go to post a picture on Instagram closes same with if I try and change my pfp or send pictures ok dm, it’s letting access to my other apps so I can use the camera for snapchat and twitter but for the Instagram it does even show up in restrictions – photos I don’t know what to do please help
Shams
02/20/2017 at 6:01 pmPLEASE help I’ve tried everything on this thread for the past three days and nothing works it’s so annoying !! X
Jasmine
07/14/2017 at 2:12 amSame 😒😞still not working for me either, shams
Kate
02/28/2017 at 11:11 amI had to turn off all my restrictions to get it to work
rmig
05/31/2017 at 12:54 amAwesome, I had this same problem with snap and now it works. TY!
Priscilla
06/07/2017 at 10:28 amInstagram is showing option ‘Enable Access to photos’ in blue but when I tap it nothing happens , I have tried all the previous options please help
Samantha
06/09/2017 at 12:48 pmPriscilla could you post of screenshot of what you see here?
Logan
06/26/2017 at 12:01 amHave you tried throwing your phone at the wall?
Kaye
06/26/2017 at 2:46 pmI have been trying to do this for an hour, and then I happened upon your blog. Thank you, thank you!
Samantha
06/26/2017 at 10:42 pmYou’re welcome Kaye, glad I could help!
Jasmine
07/14/2017 at 2:30 amThanks! I thought it wouldn’t work because I didn’t see any progress, but after doing this process, i turned my iphone off then on again and it works now!! Thankyou so so soo much!!!
Samantha
07/17/2017 at 11:21 amYou’re welcome!
Madi
07/12/2017 at 12:14 ami have tried this many times but it has never worked m y phone won’t even let me allow photos in privacy. Someone help me
Samantha
07/17/2017 at 11:25 amMadi, after you reset location and privacy, try powering your phone down and then back on again. This extra step seems to be helping others. Tell me what happens!
Jasmine
07/14/2017 at 2:05 amThis still doesn’t work for me. And I’ve tried everything 😔😔can someone please email me at emeraldcookie121@gmail.com because i need more information on how to do this. Thanks.
Jasmine
07/14/2017 at 2:31 amUpdate, i turned my iphone off then on again, and now it works!!
Samantha
07/17/2017 at 11:22 amGreat!
Linda De Bella
08/10/2017 at 1:49 pmThe key is to power off and then turn back on. Thanks everyone!
LaylaFilms AJ
09/11/2017 at 12:34 amIt didn’t work! I did it and I can’t get into yt and I can’t allow photos on IG or yt!
Josh Adams
09/19/2017 at 11:41 amWith all due respect to what I’m sure are nothing but the best of intentions, Digital Zen, I suspect that this tip is actually doing more harm than good for most people in that a) this resetting of the Location & Privacy settings might have some unwanted side effects (if you’re going to put that tip out there, the responsible thing to do is to investigate what those side effects might be for people or at least point them to resources where they can investigate for themselves) and b) it seemingly is doesn’t even solve the problem for most people and for those for whom it does solve the problem, it seems it’s likely not the best solution to the problem in most cases. Please edit this post to note that the first thing to try is to simply turn the phone off and back on again (it wouldn’t hurt to force quit all apps before turning the phone off but I’m not sure it’s necessary) as that solution is a) definitively non-destructive and b) seemingly more widely successful. And at that point you can feel free to delete this comment.
Samantha
09/20/2017 at 1:37 amThanks for writing in Josh! I should have noted that turning my device off and on was the first thing I tried, and more than once at that. No luck.
The aim of this blog is to simply share tech tips, insights, and fixes that work for me. This is a personal blog that I write in my limited spare time, so I don’t aim to test every combination of device, operating system, software version, browser, etc. that a reader might have. I didn’t experience any unwanted side effect after resetting Location & Privacy, but you’re right, that’s not a guarantee for everyone else who might try it.
If you know of any specific side effects that we might want to avoid, please share them here.
Samantha
09/27/2017 at 9:31 pmSomething else worth mentioning – a reader should look at the post date, which I don’t hide, and see that it was published in Sept 2014 – a million years ago in tech time 🙂 It’s very likely that the issue I had was fixed in subsequent iOS updates. I am going to start including my current hardware/iOS and also add an update to the top of this post. Thanks again for helping me think this through.
Saaj
09/27/2017 at 10:03 amHey there, ever since updating to iOS 11, I cannot upload a photo via any app. It always says “this app does not have access to your photos, you can change this in privacy settings” when I go to “photos” in the privacy settings, it says “apps that have requested access to your photos will appear here” but there’s nothing there. It’s like it doesn’t realise these apps want to have access to photos and stuff. I deleted Facebook and re-installed it, thinking maybe I clicked “don’t allow” by mistake when it asked to have access. But I Deffo clicked “allow” when re-installing and no change. It’s really annoying me, as I can’t even upload photos to Instagram and that’s the whole point in Instagram!
I’ve googled it a million times and nobody seems to have the same problem, and if they do they seem to have solved it by going to privacy settings.
I’ve even went into the separate apps in privacy settings and again it doesn’t seem to realise that the apps even want access to photos.
Please help!
Samantha
09/27/2017 at 9:42 pmDid you try turning your phone off and then on again? Did you follow the steps outlined in the post to reset Location & Privacy? This is under General settings. It sounds like you were looking in Privacy and specific apps.
Theresa
10/13/2017 at 12:33 pmI experienced and tried everything EXACTLY the same as you, Saaj. Until today. I found this blog, went to General > Restrictions and “Disabled” all restrictions. Now everything works fine. Go figure.
Vilmakaroliina
10/01/2017 at 1:15 pmDoes resetting location and privacy delete my pictures or apps?
Samantha
10/02/2017 at 12:13 pmIt shouldn’t, and nothing was deleted from my phone when I reset location/privacy (in 2014). Always good to have a backup before making changes just in case.
Vilmakaroliina
10/02/2017 at 3:06 pmI have the same problem, cant allow any of my apps to use camera,photos,microphone etc. i have tried literally everything and now that i found this trick, im just wondering that if i reset location and privacy, will it delete all my apps and media? I havent been able to use any social media for three days now and i need some help real quick.
Vilmakaroliina
10/02/2017 at 3:08 pmOh, didnt notice your reply, but thank you!!
Samantha
10/02/2017 at 3:17 pmLet me know if it works for you!
Vilmakaroliina
10/03/2017 at 7:47 amIt didnt work for me😩 i tried turning my phone off after but it stil doesnt work.. do you know what could be wrong or what mitgth help me with this?
Samantha
10/03/2017 at 10:13 amWhat iOS are you on… is it up to date? Outside of that, I don’t have any other clues 😐
Theresa Eggleston
10/04/2017 at 11:52 pmI followed all of your steps on my iPhone 6 and I can access Facebook camera, but it still won’t let any of my apps access photos.
Kalski
10/16/2017 at 11:44 pmJust compose an email from your gmail app and try to attach a pic. It will ask to allow access to your photos. Allow access. Send that email and then restart your gmail. Now you should be allowed to save gmail attached emails into your iPhone photos
Samantha
10/17/2017 at 1:14 pmGreat tip, thank you for sharing!
Ahmad
04/07/2018 at 4:46 amI tried everything too. Nothing worked. When I try to share photos, hyperlinks or anything through WhatsApp, nothing happens when I click on the WhatsApp. All other Apps are working fine. I tried resetting location and privacy, restarting, reinstalling, resetting my phone, restoring my phone, nothing worked.
Samantha
04/07/2018 at 10:15 pmHi Ahmad, I am sorry this is happening to you! I found someone else with this problem, who offered a solution. Try this: https://www.igeeksblog.com/cant-send-photos-on-whatsapp-from-iphone/.
Let us know how it works out!
Maxine Lunn
10/22/2017 at 5:33 amThanks have been trying to post a video for weeks!
Samantha
10/23/2017 at 2:26 pmYou’re welcome, glad this worked for you!
Lou
11/10/2017 at 2:23 pmFacebook only sees certain albums on my iPhone. Will not see any of the My Albums that I custom create. I’m on the latest iOS, the latest version of FB, restarted my phone, photo access granted in settings. Exasperating!
Yasar Rana
11/11/2017 at 8:01 amThanks a lot it work for me
Sandy
11/24/2017 at 4:27 amThanks, it works to me!
Jesusfreak
12/02/2017 at 10:17 amOkay so I am new to Apple. I have the 8 plus. I have only one problem I can’t seem to solve
I have an app I love Our Daily Bread and at the end it has a picture u can share so when i click on it to share it gives me every option but Instagram it’s not on the activities and I don’t know how to add it to include Instagram. I have to same problem if I for example google dogs and select images and find one is like to share to Instagram I don’t have that option any help would be great
Jen
12/30/2017 at 12:04 pmOnce you did all of the above and does not work, one extra step is to go the the individual app (one-by-one…I know) and in settings of the individual app…find the option to “save to camera roll”/“upload photo” and turn it off and back on again. It worked for me….to get the individual apps appearing back in the privacy—>photos (read and write)…
Samantha
12/30/2017 at 4:27 pmThank you Jen, great tip!
Rick
01/01/2018 at 2:40 amThank you Sam!! You saved me from hours of trying to figure this out.
Samantha
01/02/2018 at 3:58 pmYou’re very welcome, here’s to more happy tech in 2018!
Lawrence
01/13/2018 at 6:52 amAs many people have mentioned, the key seems to be to simply turn the phone off after resetting privacy/location and NOT a hard reboot. I had been doing a hard reboot as I thought that was a “higher level” of turning the device off and it was not working. I finally just powered the device off and back on again after doing the reset and it worked! Thanks for the tip!
meg
03/08/2018 at 11:58 amI am unable to access my photos/camera roll for Instagram Stories despite reloading, resetting… I am unable to access them for a regular post
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Ben
03/15/2018 at 12:17 pmTried all of this. No restrictions on, came on suddenly that everything in privacy cannot be given access to, tried resetting privacy and location. Tried turning phone on and off.
R2d2
03/20/2018 at 12:16 pmThanks it worked by just turning it on and off
Julie
04/05/2018 at 6:39 pmHi, I’ve tried everything above regards photos and managed to finally get back photos on WhatsApp and messenger but not FAcebook. Tried everything on off, restrictions, privacy, nothing appears in my photos to gain access nor via Facebook.any help is appreciated. Thank you
Samantha
04/07/2018 at 10:20 pmSorry Julie! To make sure I understand… when you are in photos, the “share with FB” option no longer appears, and conversely in FB, you cannot access your phone’s photos. Yes?
Tricia
04/19/2018 at 11:01 ami have tried everything but cannot get library access on my phone….i even got a new iphone…. i don’t know what to do anymore and am very frustrated!!! please help!
when I try to enable library access, photos does not even come up on the list of “allow instagram to access”.
Louis
04/27/2018 at 5:14 pmGREAT – Thanks so much, as much as I love Apple it can be very frustrating at times.
Worked like a charm.
Samantha
05/10/2018 at 12:43 pmGlad this helped you Louis! Thanks for letting me know.
Sujati
09/08/2018 at 1:23 amHad similar problem of Goodnotes not being able to access photo. Tried all the above sauggestion. The solution that worked for me involves 2 stesps: 1. Disable restriction 2. Reset privacy n location. Hope info is useful to others who face similar problem.
Michelle
09/16/2018 at 9:20 pmDidn’t work 🙁 Two of my three accounts work great, but my Photography one that I want/need to add to my highlights doesn’t work. I was never big into stories until the highlights came out. . .seems like you can’t add to highlights anything other than stuff from your stories. . .but I still can’t get it to work. . .
I reset the privacy n location, rebooted my iPhone, hard reset it. . .nada!!
rashananhadlfj
12/19/2018 at 2:10 pmThank you thank you!!! After disabling restrictions and resetting privacy and shutting down my phone I have photo access for the first time!! Thank you!!
Belinda
12/27/2018 at 10:05 amI am unable to take pictures from my Instagram account but when I made anther account I can.. any advice there?
Emme
01/27/2019 at 1:56 pmThanks a lot…. work it👌🏼
Bill
03/01/2019 at 7:37 pmwell I have tried everything, IPhone 10xr Facebook wont allow access to photos, Instagram same, messenger same, tried reinstalling, reset phone, reset priv. setting, I have even uninstalled, poweroff, reinstall, reset. the phone, does not show anything asking for access.
Suzanne Delaney
04/07/2019 at 10:03 pmInstead of trying to do it from Whatsapp I went to my Pictures and hit the share button. Then the icons came up to choose from. I chose WhatsApp and it opened it and allowed me to share
juusuohohei
03/24/2019 at 12:39 amI can save edited photos with “Reset Location & Privacy”, thank you!!
(Before that, I’ve got a error message “Couldn’t Save Photo” for a long time…)
sonia
04/17/2019 at 9:19 amthanks!!! i worked for me as well
RM
05/31/2019 at 3:10 pmThis just happened to my instagram. Same issue as a lot of comments above. The camera doesnt show up as an option after clicking the plus sign. It can access my photos. I followed steps outlined above including resetting restrictions and powering off and on as well as deleting the app and reinstalling it. Anything else you’ve heard of that might work?
scot
06/16/2019 at 4:18 pmI have an iphone XR ios 12… and just changed from a 6s. On the 6s, KIK can access my photos. Never, add photos only OR Read and Write. My Xr only gives the option to never give access or add photos only. Their is no option to READ and WRITE. I’ve restarted, reinstalled and reset privacy, but nothing. Can you help.
Lisa
07/06/2019 at 1:54 pmOn iphone 6 with ios 12.3.1 , Facebook will not upload video, suddenly. Hi, I’ve tried everything above regards photos: shut off/back on twice, privacy, after the reset locations, now no apps appear in privacy>photos, or camera as if no one had asked to gain access, but there WERE about 6 or 8 apps there before the reset.
From Photos share to Fb can be tapped, but it disappears right away. Share to Instagram does work, but it does not appear as an app on the settings/privacy/photos page anymore. Does not matter as it works, but video to Fb? no go. Have checked Fb settings and see upload to HD is on, and Photo HD, also checked FB regs on format. Same sphone worked before. Also, do not see any ‘restrictions,’ spot, but Location is On, and Accessibility between Apps. What to do?
Rebeca Stanley
08/10/2019 at 9:58 amThat worked! Thank you very much…. I’m so happy now 🙂
ANon
10/01/2019 at 7:50 pmMine still wouldn’t allow camera access after all the resetting and restarting steps. It only worked for the microphone access. It wouldn’t allow me to post a story without access to camera and it wouldn’t revert me to the iphone settings to allow so. I tried to post a photo instead and it asked for access to my photos. I accepted and then selected camera and it asked for access to camera. I accepted and now all solved!
christiana
10/06/2019 at 11:15 amI had the same issue! I went to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings, and my camera access was available again. I hope this helps!
Alessandra Panato
10/29/2019 at 7:59 amPROBLEM SOLVED! Just turn off and on your phone 🙂 yay!!! (it was so simple)
P
03/02/2020 at 7:05 pmHi!
I have no access to photos, camera, my background refresh setting is all gray-can’t select anything… my WhatsApp contacts are only numbers … everything is reaaally weird, I have tried it all posted here… and still…
do you have a 2020 answer for an Xs Max? iOS 13.3.1?
Sukky
11/09/2019 at 6:43 pmIt works if you restart your phone after!! Thank you!!🥳❤️
Jacqui
04/23/2020 at 11:33 pmNone of this worked for le and I don’t have ‘restrictions’ under ‘general’ in settings at all
George Ashley
05/05/2020 at 4:34 pmI have figured out the problem, GENERAL SETTINGS: rest: rest all setting.
Steph
07/07/2020 at 5:05 amThank you! Been struggling with this for days and this worked perfectly for me!
Alia
08/10/2020 at 9:50 amThe reset worked! Thanks so much, I had tried several other troubleshooting tips!
m.dub
08/14/2020 at 6:54 pmnot working. i’ve tried resetting location/privacy, deleted app, downloaded again. nothing . shut down/restarted 3 times…. camera access is there but IG cannot enable library of photos.
TJ
10/01/2020 at 9:48 pmSo I called Apple support and they helped me with the problem. All you have to do is go to settings-Screen time – Turn off screen time . And you should be good to go !
Luce
10/03/2020 at 4:52 amThis works (had to turn my phone on and off after I reset it) Thank you soooo much for the help- my phone was driving me crazy!! x
Erin O
09/26/2021 at 4:07 pmWorked for us! Thank you!
Kristen Turner
11/28/2021 at 6:57 amThank you!! This works!! I tried everything from deleting pictures and I’ve been up searching ways to fix this issue and this fixed it. Thank you. Good ole’ internet. 🤍
Samantha
11/29/2021 at 4:59 pmSo glad this worked for you! 🙂
D
12/12/2021 at 8:07 amHi came back here ! Just to write it worked ❤️ Seriously never had or heard that issue and person next to me is better off criticizing me than helping. Tried and tried then googled and found this space. Thanks so much
Samantha
12/12/2021 at 2:02 pmYou’re welcome, glad this helped. Thanks for writing!
Jeeva
07/14/2022 at 12:53 amJust try resetting privacy and location, when you also don’t receive notifications, for iPhone and iPad, it is working.
Air
12/24/2022 at 1:55 amI had the same issue : all apps lost permissions to pictures, contacts, Bluetooth etc. It was so annoying ! All I had to do is reboot my iPhone. Thank you so much…