To see which apps can open your Photos library, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos, and turn off any app that doesn't need it. For some apps, Options lets you limit access to the photos you pick, or to only adding photos.
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Where to find it
System Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos
Photos permission gives an app access to your Photos library: pictures, videos and their details, such as when and where each was taken. For some apps you can choose full access, only the photos you select, or only the ability to add photos. Apple notes that pictures stored outside the Photos library may still be open to other apps.
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
Each app that asked has a switch. For some, Options shows whether it has full access, selected photos or add-only.
Choose selected photos or add-only for apps that don't need your whole library.
Turn off the switch, or use Options to give the app only the photos you select.
If the app already uploaded photos to its cloud, revoking access doesn't delete them. Remove them in that service.
CoreLock's free Privacy report covers Screen Recording, Accessibility, Full Disk Access, Input Monitoring, camera and microphone. For Photos, use System Settings, where some apps can be limited to the photos you pick.
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Full access lets the app see every photo and video in your library. Selected photos lets it see only the ones you pick, and add-only lets it save new photos without seeing the rest. Not every app offers all three.
Usually, yes. Photos often carry the place they were taken, and an app with access to a photo can read it. Limited access keeps the rest of your library, and its locations, out of reach.
No. It stops future access to your library. Copies the app already uploaded to its own cloud stay there until you delete them in that service.
The Privacy report and the scan are free, with no account, on macOS 13 or later.
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