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How to see which apps can access your contacts and location on iPhone

Photo of Abu Bakar SaadatBy Updated 27 October 20264 min read

Device: iPhone 17e · Software: iOS 27.0.1 · Checked October 2026 · Publisher: Saadat Rafiq

Real screenshot · iPhone 17e, iOS 27.0.1

In short

Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security. Tap a category such as Location Services, Contacts or Photos to see every app that asked for it, and tap an app to change its access. For location you choose when, for Contacts how much, and most other categories have an on or off switch per app.

Every time an app asks to use your location, contacts, photos, camera or microphone, your answer is saved in one place. It is worth looking through that list once in a while and switching off what an app does not need. The screenshots are our own, taken on an iPhone 17e running iOS 27.0.1, in dark mode.

7 of 7 steps show a real screenshot from our iPhone 17e.

What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens and Apple's iOS 27 guide.

Steps

0 of 7 steps
  1. 1

    Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security

    Scroll down Settings and tap Privacy & Security.

    On our iPhone 17e it is below Emergency SOS and above Game Center.

    iPhone screen: Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security
  2. 2

    Open Location Services

    Tap Location Services, above Tracking (Data Linking Across Companies from iOS 27.2), to see the apps that have asked for your location and what each is allowed. On our iPhone 17e the row said 2 while using.

    Tap an app to choose when it may use your location. Apple says an approximate location may be sufficient for an app that does not need your exact location: switch off Precise Location for it.

    iPhone screen: Open Location Services
  3. 3

    Go back and open Contacts

    Each category below works the same way, starting with Calendars, Contacts and Files & Folders.

    Tap Contacts to see which apps can read your address book. On our iPhone 17e it said None, while Files & Folders said 1 app.

    iPhone screen: Go back and open Contacts
  4. 4

    Check how much each app may see

    On our iPhone 17e no app had asked, so the page said 0 Contacts and Apps that have requested access to your contacts will appear here.

    Once an app has asked, Apple says to tap the app and choose how much access it gets, below Contacts Access.

    With Limited Access, Apple says to tap Edit Selected Contacts, pick people and tap Done.

    iPhone screen: Check how much each app may see
  5. 5

    Repeat for Photos, Camera and Microphone

    Scroll further down the Privacy & Security page and tap Photos, Camera or Microphone.

    On our iPhone 17e Photos said None, and Camera and Microphone each showed 0.

    Apple says each category lists the apps that asked, and you can turn access on or off for any of them.

    iPhone screen: Repeat for Photos, Camera and Microphone
  6. 6

    If you cannot change an app's access: check Screen Time

    Open Settings, Screen Time, Content & Privacy Restrictions and scroll to the bottom.

    On our iPhone 17e, Privacy Restrictions had a single row, Allow Changes to Settings. Tap it.

    iPhone screen: If you cannot change an app's access: check Screen Time
  7. 7

    Check the row for the setting

    On our iPhone 17e this page listed Accounts, Face ID & Passcode, Calendar, Contacts, Photos, Location Services, Microphone and more, all set to Allow.

    Apple's article Set up parental controls to manage your child's iPhone or iPad describes an Allow or Don't Allow choice here. If your setting is set to Don't Allow, ask whoever manages Screen Time on the phone.

    iPhone screen: Check the row for the setting

If you do not see this option

If this does not work

  • An app stopped working after you removed access. Give access back in the same place: Privacy & Security, the category, then the app. Apple says you can change access later, after you grant or deny it.
  • You cannot change an app's access. Screen Time may be locking it. Step 6 shows where to check. Apple's article Set up parental controls to manage your child's iPhone or iPad explains these restrictions.

Good to know

Data Linking Across Companies (called Tracking before iOS 27.2), near the top of the same page, controls whether apps may ask to link your activity across other companies' apps and websites. Switch off its Allow Apps to Request switch to refuse all of them at once: how to stop apps from tracking you on iPhone.

If an app stops working after you remove a permission, give it back in the same place. Nothing is lost by saying no first.

App Privacy Report, on the same page, shows how apps use the permissions you gave them and their network activity.

Safety Check, also on the Privacy & Security page, walks you through what you share with people and apps.

Turn location off completely, or only for system services: How to turn Location Services on or off on iPhone and how to turn off location for system services.

Change one app to While Using or Never: how to change when an app may use your location on an iPhone.

Watch these steps

Video thumbnail: How to see which apps can access your contacts and location on iPhoneWatch on YouTubeThe same steps, recorded on our iPhone 17e · opens YouTube

About this guide

Device
iPhone
Shown on
iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)
App
Settings
Path
Settings › Privacy & Security
Real screenshots
7 of 7 steps
Checked
October 2026
Sources
5 official, linked below

What to do next

Tighten your iPhone privacy Step 2 of 7

  1. How to stop apps from tracking you on iPhoneStop apps following you across other apps.
  2. How to view or turn off Significant Locations & Routes on iPhoneSee the places your iPhone remembers.
  3. How to hide your IP address from trackers in Safari on an iPhoneHide your IP address from trackers in Safari.

Did this guide work for you?