Requesting Permission

Users must grant permission for an app to access personal information, including the current location, calendar, contact information, reminders, and photos. Although people appreciate the convenience of using an app that has access to this information, they also expect to have control over their private data. For example, people like being able to automatically tag photos with their physical location or find nearby friends, but they also want the option to disable such features.

Request personal data only when your app clearly needs it. It’s natural to be suspicious of a request for personal information, especially if there’s no obvious need for it. Make sure permission requests occur only when people are using features that clearly need personal data. For example, an app might only request access to the current location when activating a location tracking feature.

Explain why your app needs the information if it’s not obvious. You can add custom text to the system-provided permission request alert. Make the text specific and polite, so people don’t feel pressured. Keep the text short, and use sentence case. There’s no need to include your app name. The system already identifies your app as the one making the request.

Request permission at launch only when necessary for your app to function. Users won’t be bothered by this request if it’s obvious that your app depends on their personal information to operate.