Hi, I’ve developed a photo app that includes a photo deletion feature. Some users have reported encountering PHPhotosError.operationInterrupted (3301) when attempting to delete photos. Initially, I suspected that some of the assets might have a sourceType of typeiTunesSynced, since the documentation notes that iTunes-synced assets cannot be edited or deleted. However, after checking the logs, all of the assets involved are of typeUserLibrary. Additionally, the user mentioned that some photos in the iPhone Photos do not show a delete button. I’m unsure whether the absence of the delete button is related to the 3301 error. I’d like to confirm the following: Under what conditions does PHPhotosError.operationInterrupted (3301) occur, and how should it be handled? Why do some photos in the iPhone Photos not show a delete button? The code for deleting photos is as follows: PHPhotoLibrary *library = [PHPhotoLibrary sharedPhotoLibrary]; [library performChanges:^{ PHFetchResult *assetsToBeDeleted = [PHAsset fetchAssetsWithLocalIdentifiers:delUrls options:nil]; if (assetsToBeDeleted) { [PHAssetChangeRequest deleteAssets:assetsToBeDeleted]; } } completionHandler:^(BOOL success, NSError *error) {

I discovered when editing photos with the PhotoKit API, PHContentEditingOutput's renderedContentURL is a file in the app container's tmp directory with a filename that seems to follow the format render.<uuid>.JPG, and that file does not get deleted if the edit does not complete successfully (the user cancels the edit request, an error occurs, the app crashes, etc). I understand the system is supposed to automatically delete tmp files every once in a while, but some users are noticing my app's Documents & Data inflates, so I'm considering deleting these render files each time the app is launched. But I don't want to delete everything in the tmp directory as there could possibly be other data in there. What's the best way to remove those temporary files? Does the filename always start with render. no matter the device language? I thought I'd delete files in NSTemporaryDirectory() with that prefix but then I discovered in Mac Catalyst the location is not the tmp directory directly, they're in tmp/TemporaryItems/<bundleid>. Thanks!

(Note: this is part 3 of a 3 part posting. See Part 1 or Part 2) At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for Camera & Photos. WWDC25 Camera & Photos group lab ran for one hour at 6 PM PST on Tuesday June 10th, 2025 Question 24 What’s the best approach for optimizing barcode scanning using AVFoundation or Vision in low-light or angled scenarios Turn on flash in low-light scenarios Lower framerate to improve exposure and reduce noise Wait until the capture is in focus/notify your user that they need to get closer Question 25 Recent iPhone models introduced macro mode which automatically switch between lenses to take into account of the focal distance difference. Is there official API to implement this, or should I implement them myself using LiDAR values. Using builtInTripleCamera and builtInDualWideCamera will automatically switch to macro when available Question 26 Is there a way to quickly create a thumbnail after the user selects an image with PhotosPicker? File provider API Additional questions from the WWDC25 in-person labs that occurred later in the WWDC week Question 1 When should I build my custom photo picker instead of using the system one? Always start with the system picker -> try embeddable customization APIs -> fallback to custom picker for very special needs Question 2 I'm building a new camera app for pros and I want to give my users the most un-processed image possible, and the most control over the capture as possible. How can I do that with AVCapture? If stills, Brief Bayer RAW capture overview, or Pro RAW if you want Apple's processing and dynamic range If video, talk about prores LOG. Custom exposure settings are available throguh the apis maybe global/local tonemapping discussion?

Hi! I'm attempting to add purpose string when requesting to access the camera, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be working. Below I've included the alert and the plist.

I'm experiencing an issue with my app when saving images to the camera roll. This is intermittent, but it happens several times a day. The error I receive is the following: Connection to assetsd was interrupted - assetsd exited, died, or closed the photo library Error getting remote object proxy for -[PLNonBindingAssetsdPhotoKitClient sendChangesRequest:reply:]_block_invoke: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4097 "connection to service named com.apple.photos.service" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=connection to service named com.apple.photos.service} PhotoKit XPC proxy is invalid. Dropping request on the floor and returning an error: Error Domain=PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=3301 "(null)" (underlying error Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4097 "connection to service named com.apple.photos.service" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=connection to service named com.apple.photos.service}) CoreData: error: XPC: synchronousRemoteObjectProxyWithErrorHandler: store 'file:///var/mobile/Media/PhotoData/Photos.sqlite' encountered error: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated: failed to check-in, peer may have been unloaded: mach_error=10000003." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated: failed to check-in, peer may have been unloaded: mach_error=10000003.} CoreData: error: XPC: synchronousRemoteObjectProxyWithErrorHandler: store 'file:///var/mobile/Media/PhotoData/Photos.sqlite' encountered error: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated: failed to check-in, peer may have been unloaded: mach_error=10000003." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated: failed to check-in, peer may have been unloaded: mach_error=10000003.} My code is unchanged from using my app daily on an iPhone 16 Pro with iOS 26. I never saw the issue on this device. Here is an excerpt from my code for saving the image: var localIdentifier = String() PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges({ let albumChangeRequest = PHAssetCollectionChangeRequest(for: album) let assetCreationRequest = PHAssetCreationRequest.forAsset() let options = PHAssetResourceCreationOptions() assetCreationRequest.addResource(with: .photo, data: imageData, options: options) assetCreationRequest.creationDate = Date.now let placeHolder = assetCreationRequest.placeholderForCreatedAsset albumChangeRequest?.addAssets([placeHolder!] as NSArray) if placeHolder != nil { localIdentifier = (placeHolder?.localIdentifier)! } }) { (didSucceed, error) in OperationQueue.main.addOperation({ didSucceed ? success(localIdentifier) : failure(error) }) } I'm not sure why this would be device specific but I have had users with iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air reporting the issue. Alex

Hello, I have a problem reading a 2D data matrix type code with a camera. In the application, I use AVFoundation to operate the camera and work with 2D codes, and in the vast majority there is no problem with loading. Nothing special. I originally thought it might be a problem in my code, but I got the same result when I tried with the Camera app integrated in IOS. It can be seen that only the LiveText API for text recognition worked. But I am attaching the code with which the camera has a problem, even though the code looks perfectly fine at first glance. A classic handheld 2D code reader will read the code just fine. Can someone please explain to me why the camera, which normally reads these codes at the speed of light, sometimes has a problem with the codes? Thank you [Personal Information Edited by Moderator]

I am currently developing an application that requires access to GPS coordinates from photos on iOS. However, with the recent update to iOS 18 beta, I have encountered a challenge: I can only view photos within maps, and I am unable to access the GPS coordinates directly. Could you please provide guidance on how to enable or retrieve GPS coordinates from photos in the current iOS 18 beta version? Any insights or resources you could share would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your assistance!

I'm using Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode in my native iOS application, which is similar to Google Meet, using the VideoSDK.live Native iOS SDK. The SDK has built-in support for PiP and it's working fine for the most part. However, I'm running into a problem: When the app enters PiP mode, the local camera (self-video) of the participant freezes or stops. I want to fix this and achieve the same smooth behavior seen in apps like Google Meet and WhatsApp, where the local camera keeps working even in PiP mode. I've been trying to find documentation or examples on how to achieve this but haven't had much luck. I came across a few mentions that using the camera in the background may require special entitlements from Apple (like in the entitlements file). Most of the official documentation says background camera access is restricted due to Apple’s privacy policies. So my questions are: Has anyone here successfully implemented background camera access in PiP mode on iOS? If yes, what permissions or entitlements are required? How do apps like WhatsApp and Google Meet achieve this functionality on iPhones? Any help, advice, or pointers would be really appreciated!

Hi everyone, I’m running into an issue with PHPickerFilter when using PHPickerViewController. When I configure the picker with a .videos and .livePhotos filter, it seems to work correctly in the Photos tab. However, when I switch to the Collections tab, the filter doesn’t always apply — users can still see and select static image assets in certain collections (e.g. from one of the People & Pets sections). Here’s a simplified snippet of my setup: var configuration = PHPickerConfiguration(photoLibrary: .shared()) configuration.selectionLimit = 1 var filters = [PHPickerFilter]() filters.append(.videos) filters.append(.livePhotos) configuration.filter = PHPickerFilter.any(of: filters) configuration.preferredAssetRepresentationMode = .current let picker = PHPickerViewController(configuration: configuration) picker.delegate = self present(picker, animated: true) Expected behavior: The picker should consistently respect the filter across both Photos and Collections tabs, only showing assets that match the filter. Actual behavior: The filter seems to apply correctly in the Photos tab, but in the Collections tab, other asset types are still visible/selectable. Has anyone else encountered this behavior? Is this expected or a known issue, or am I missing something in the configuration? Thanks in advance!

This ideal gonna be cool: When people finish recording a video and later realize there's something else worth capturing, they can only create a second clip. But what if it were possible to reopen the first video and continue recording from where they left off? This would be a great convenience for many people

Dear Apple Developer Forum, I have a question regarding the AVCaptureDevice on iOS. We're trying to capture photos in the best quality possible along with depth data with the highest accuracy possible. We were delighted when we saw AVCaptureDevice could be initialized with the AVMediaType=.depthData which works as expected (depthData is a part of the AVCapturePhoto). When setting to AVMediaType=.video, we still receive depth data (of same quality according to our own internal tests). That confused us. Mind you, we set the device format and depth format as well: private func getDeviceFormat() throws -> AVCaptureDevice.Format { // Ensures high video format and an appropriate color profile. let format = camera?.formats.first(where: { $0.isHighPhotoQualitySupported && $0.supportedDepthDataFormats.count > 0 && $0.formatDescription.mediaSubType.rawValue == kCVPixelFormatType_420YpCbCr8BiPlanarFullRange }) // Check and see if it's available. guard format != nil else { throw CaptureDeviceError.necessaryFormatNotAvailable } return format! } private func getDepthDataFormat(for format: AVCaptureDevice.Format) throws -> AVCaptureDevice.Format { // Access the depth format. let depthDataFormat = format.supportedDepthDataFormats.first(where: { $0.formatDescription.mediaSubType.rawValue == kCVPixelFormatType_DepthFloat32 }) // Check if it exists guard depthDataFormat != nil else { throw CaptureDeviceError.necessaryFormatNotAvailable } // Returns it. return depthDataFormat! } We're wondering, what steps we can take to ensure the best quality photo, along with the most accurate depth data? What properties are the most important, which have an effect, which don't? Are there any ways we can optimize our current configuration? We find it difficult as there's very limited guides and explanations on the media subtypes, for example kCVPixelFormatType_420YpCbCr8BiPlanarFullRange. Is it the best? Is it the best for our use case of high quality photo + most accurate depth data? Important comment: Our App only runs on iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro on the latest iOS versions. We hope someone with greater knowledge at Apple can help us and guide us on how we can have the photos of best quality and depth data with most accuracy. Thank you very much! Kind regards.

I have a feature requirement: to switch the writer for file writing every 5 minutes, and then quickly merge the last two files. How can I ensure that the merged file is seamlessly combined and that the audio and video information remains synchronized? Currently, the merged video has glitches, and the audio is also out of sync. If there are experts who can provide solutions in this area, I would be extremely grateful.

I have an app that allows the user to change a photo’s EXIF metadata. To do this, I request a content editing input, get the full size image, modify its properties, create a content editing output, write the output image to the rendered content URL, then call performChanges on the PHPhotoLibrary creating an asset change request for that asset setting its content editing output. This works as expected for regular photos but Live Photos get turned off converted to a regular photo. To address this, I’m doing something similar by changing the properties of the .photo image in the Live Photo. I detect when the content editing input has a Live Photo, create a Live Photo editing context, set a frame processor that returns the frame’s image after setting its properties to the updated properties when the frame type is photo, then I create the content editing output and save the Live Photo to that output. It modifies the Live Photo successfully, but the metadata is not updated. If you get the full size image again the properties are the original properties. If you look at the EXIF metadata using an app like Metapho it remains unchanged. What am I doing wrong here? Thanks! let imageURL = contentEditingInput.fullSizeImageURL! let inputImage = CIImage(contentsOf: imageURL, options: [.applyOrientationProperty: true])! var metadata: [AnyHashable: Any] = inputImage.properties // Edit the metadata as desired... let editingContext = PHLivePhotoEditingContext(livePhotoEditingInput: contentEditingInput)! editingContext.frameProcessor = { frame, error -> CIImage? in // Edit only the still photo if frame.type == .photo { return frame.image.settingProperties(metadata) } return frame.image } let contentEditingOutput = try await withCheckedThrowingContinuation { continuation in let editingOutput = PHContentEditingOutput(contentEditingInput: contentEditingInput) editingOutput.adjustmentData = adjustmentData editingContext.saveLivePhoto(to: editingOutput) { success, error in if success { continuation.resume(returning: editingOutput) } else { continuation.resume(throwing: error!) } } } try await PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges { let request = PHAssetChangeRequest(for: asset) request.contentEditingOutput = contentEditingOutput }

When attempting to access a PHAsset that is in the hidden folder of iOS26, the PHFetchResult always returns no items, even when the user has granted full access to photos and even when includeHiddenAssets is true. This is the code suggested by ChatGPT; it always fails: public func fetchAsset(withLocalIdentifier identifier: String) -> PSSPHAssetImplementing? { // First try the direct fetch by identifier (fast path) let directResult = PHAsset.fetchAssets(withLocalIdentifiers: [identifier], options: nil) if let asset = directResult.firstObject { return build(from: asset) } // Fallback: fetch all assets including hidden, then filter manually let options = PHFetchOptions() options.includeHiddenAssets = true let allAssets = PHAsset.fetchAssets(with: options) for index in 0..<allAssets.count { let asset = allAssets.object(at: index) if asset.localIdentifier == identifier { return build(from: asset) } } return nil } Is it no longer possible to retrieve a hidden photo in iOS 26?

According to the docs: The first time your app performs an operation that requires [photo library] authorization, the system automatically and asynchronously prompts the user for it. (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit/delivering-an-enhanced-privacy-experience-in-your-photos-app) I.e. it's not necessary for the app to call PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization. This does seem to be what happens when my app runs on an iPhone or iPad; the prompt is shown. But when it runs on a Mac in "designed for iPad" mode, the permission dialog is not presented. Instead the code continues to see status == .notDetermined. That's today, on macOS 15.3. It may have worked in the past. Is anyone else seeing issues with this? Should I call requestAuthorization explicitly? (Would that actually work?)

I feel that IOS18 camera filters are over complicated and generate lower level results than iOS18 filters. I am really missing the Vivid filter. It was perfect on ios17.

I want to modify the photo's exif information, which means putting the original image in through CGImageDestinationAddImageFromSource, and then adding the modified exif information to a place called properties. Here is the complete process: static func setImageMetadata(asset: PHAsset, exif: [String: Any]) { let options = PHContentEditingInputRequestOptions() options.canHandleAdjustmentData = { (adjustmentData) -> Bool in return true } asset.requestContentEditingInput(with: options, completionHandler: { input, map in guard let inputNN = input else { return } guard let url = inputNN.fullSizeImageURL else { return } let output = PHContentEditingOutput(contentEditingInput: inputNN) let adjustmentData = PHAdjustmentData(formatIdentifier: AppInfo.appBundleId(), formatVersion: AppInfo.appVersion(), data: Data()) output.adjustmentData = adjustmentData let outputURL = output.renderedContentURL guard let source = CGImageSourceCreateWithURL(url as CFURL, nil) else { return } guard let dest = CGImageDestinationCreateWithURL(outputURL as CFURL, UTType.jpeg.identifier as CFString, 1, nil) else { return } CGImageDestinationAddImageFromSource(dest, source, 0, exif as CFDictionary) let d = CGImageDestinationFinalize(dest) // d is true, and I checked the content of outputURL, image has been write correctly, it could be convert to UIImage and image is ok. PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges { let changeReq = PHAssetChangeRequest(for: asset) changeReq.contentEditingOutput = output } completionHandler: { succ, err in if !succ { print(err) // 3303 here, always! } } }) }

I am new here and would appreciate help in coding or an explanation what to use in swift for an app which will be able to capture LiDAR scanning and RGB data from taken pictures, generate a 3D mesh, and create .OBJ, .MTL, and .JPEG file set for further manipulation of 3D model. I am able to create from LiDAR scanning 3D mesh and .OBJ file but can not generate .MTL and .JPEG for a texture of 3D model.

I would appreciate help in coding or an explanation what to use in swift for an app which will be able to capture LiDAR scanning and RGB data from taken pictures, generate a 3D mesh, and create .OBJ, .MTL, and .JPEG file set for further manipulation of 3D model.

Xcode Version 16.3 (16E140) App developed in Flutter Flutter 3.29.3 Test iPhone device: iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 18.5 I have an app that requires Camera access. This used to work before with iOS 18.4.x. I have dumbed down my app to just get Camera permission. Even then it fails flutter: Camera permission: PermissionStatus.denied flutter: Photos permission: PermissionStatus.denied flutter: Microphone permission: PermissionStatus.denied flutter: --- End Debug Info --- flutter: Loaded translations from asset for en_US container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled flutter: CAMERA PERMISSION STATUS: PermissionStatus.permanentlyDenied Camera permissions don't show up in my App settings or under "Settings -&gt; Privacy and Security -&gt; Camera" and I am at loss to understand why this is happening.