PHAuthorizationStatus.limited: Remove "Selected Photos" from Image Library Permissions under App Settings

tl;dr; Is there a way to ensure that only "Never" and "Read and Write" appear under Settings -> App Name -> Photos on devices running iOS 14 or higher?

The Issue: The enhanced image library access permissions incorporated as part of iOS 14 are creating problems with a custom image selection flow created for an app and I'm just curious if there is a way to eliminate the "Selected Photos" option from the app settings until the app can be fully updated to offer users the enhanced security.

I've removed the "Select Photos..." option from the iOS permission alert viewcontroller for the Images Library by setting the value for the PHPhotoLibraryPreventAutomaticLimitedAccessAlert key to 'true' as recommended in the Apple documentation:

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit/phauthorizationstatus/limited

However, if the device is running iOS 14 or higher, the option for "Selected Photos" is still available when I go to the App's settings in the device's Settings menu. If a user interacts with permissions at this level the app does not function properly. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this as well and possibly come up with an interim solution.

Replies

It is not possible to remove the "Select Photos..." option from the initial permissions prompt nor from Settings → App name → Photos. Many users choose to have the permissions be setup in this way for apps so your app will need to be able to handle that scenario.

Could you expand upon

If a user interacts with permissions at this level the app does not function properly.

What exactly is breaking when the user has a smaller subset of their library selected for use by your app?