Photo library permission limited to selected photos on iOS 14+

iOS 14 introduced photo library limited access: users can grant access to a specific selection of photos rather than their entire library. An app that requests full photo library access for a feature that only needs one photo — such as a profile picture upload — forces users to choose between granting access to their entire camera roll or denying the feature entirely. This is a GDPR Art. 5(1)(c) data-minimisation violation. Apple's App Store reviewers check whether apps use the full library permission when limited access would suffice; requesting more than necessary is grounds for a guideline violation. CWE-272 (Least Privilege Violation) applies when an app acquires more access than its operation requires.

Use expo-image-picker with default settings for features that need one or a few photos — it automatically uses the limited access picker on iOS 14+. Only declare NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription for features that browse the full library.

import * as ImagePicker from 'expo-image-picker'

// Profile photo upload: limited access is appropriate
async function pickProfilePhoto() {
  const result = await ImagePicker.launchImageLibraryAsync({
    mediaTypes: ImagePicker.MediaTypeOptions.Images,
    allowsEditing: true,
    aspect: [1, 1],
    quality: 0.8,
    // On iOS 14+, this presents the limited-access picker by default
  })
  if (!result.canceled) {
    uploadProfilePhoto(result.assets[0].uri)
  }
}

In app.json, only add NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription if a feature genuinely browses the full library. Use NSPhotoLibraryAddOnlyUsageDescription for save-only operations (e.g., saving generated images). Remove NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription if all photo access goes through the picker.