Top 3 Methods for Managing Contact Sharing with Apps in iOS 18

Essential Information

• In iOS 18, you can now restrict an app’s access to your contacts, allowing you to choose specific contacts that the app can access.
• To manage an app’s contact access, navigate to Settings > Privacy & Security > Contacts > select the app > and choose the desired level of access.
• Alternatively, go to Settings > Apps > select the app > Contacts > and set the level of access accordingly.

Many third-party applications request access to your contacts in order to facilitate messaging, calling, or emailing. However, giving this permission often grants them access to all your contacts, which has raised significant privacy concerns.

With the release of iOS 18, Apple empowers users to regain control over their personal information. You can now select which individual contacts to share with an app, enhancing your data privacy. Below, we outline the various methods to control how you share your contacts with applications in iOS 18.

Managing Contact Access with Apps in iOS 18

Thanks to advanced privacy controls, you can now effectively manage an app’s access to your contacts. Here’s how to do it:

Method 1: During App Access Request

If you’ve recently installed an app that prompts you for access to your contacts, follow these steps to determine which contacts the app can access:

1. When the app requests access, tap Continue. On the following screen, select Select Contacts.
   

   

   

2. Then, scroll through the list of your contacts and choose the specific contacts you want the app to access. Tap Continue and then select Allow Selected Contacts.
   

   

   

3. If you would like to allow the app full access to your contacts, choose Allow Full Access, then tap Allow.
   

   

   

If preferred, you can also deny any access to your contacts by selecting ‘Don’t Allow’.

Method 2: Through Privacy & Security Settings

If you’ve already granted access to your contacts but want to modify the settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app, and navigate to Privacy & Security > Contacts.
   

   

   

2. A list of apps and their access to your contacts will appear. Tap on the app to change its contact access settings.
   

   

   

3. Select the appropriate level of access you wish to grant (or revoke) for the app.
   

   

   

Method 3: Via Apps Settings

Another method to adjust how apps access your contacts is through the Apps settings. Here’s how:

1. Open the Settings app, and head to Apps. Select the app for which you want to limit access.
   

   

   

2. Tap Contacts. Then, adjust the access settings as needed.
   

   

   

Be aware that the ‘Contacts’ option will only show for those apps that have previously requested access, regardless of whether you granted or denied it.

These enhanced privacy settings aim to mitigate the issue of apps harvesting user data, particularly those that require access merely for a trial experience. Importantly, you can keep your contacts private unless you choose to share them.

We hope this guide has simplified the process of managing contact sharing with apps in iOS 18. Until next time, stay safe!

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