iOS apps that build their own social networks on the back of users’ address books may soon be a thing of the past. In iOS 18, Apple is cracking down on social networking apps that ask users for permission to access their contacts — something social networking apps often do to connect users with their friends or make recommendations on who to follow. Now, Apple is adding a new two-step permissions popup that will first ask users to allow or deny access to their contacts, just like before, and then, if the user allows access, let them choose which contacts want to share, if not all.
The changes were unveiled in a session at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference that focused on user privacy features.
When consumers share their contacts with a third-party app, that app will have continued access to their contacts over time, even as new ones are added, according to Apple. To give users more control over which contacts an app can and can’t access, the permissions screen has two stages.
On the first screen, users confirm whether they want to share their contacts with the app or not. This is similar to the prompt available today, although some app makers have used the contact sharing option as a way to block access to their app from users who refuse to share their contacts.
For example, last year the photo-sharing app Lapse shot to the top of the App Store using a mechanism that forced users to invite their friends to join. Before that, apps like Poparazzi and Club required full access to the address book — a growth hack that helped them quickly expand their networks. Amo ID, an app from the founder of Zenly (which was sold to Snap), also won steam by requiring users to invite friends to join.
These techniques may work to provide an initial rush of user adoption, but in many cases, this hack does not lead to sustainable growth in the long term. In the meantime, users have to completely give up access to address books just to try new social experiences.
This may now become more difficult, as users who choose to share their address book by tapping Continue on the first screen will be taken to a second screen in iOS 18 where they can choose whether or not to share all their contacts with an application. Here, users will be able to tap on “Allow Full Access” or a new “Select Contacts” option if they prefer to restrict access.
Additionally, iOS 18 does not require the app developer to make any changes on their part for this functionality to work, nor does it require any new APIs to be implemented. Instead, if a developer’s app requests access to Contacts, these new screens will appear automatically.
At X, developer Nikita Bier, who had sold social networking apps like Gas and tbh, to Discord and Facebook, joked: “It’s the end of the world,” followed by a screenshot of Apple’s announcement of new privacy feature.
For those more concerned with security and privacy, however, the addition is welcome. As a security company Mysk wrote to X, the change would be “sad news for data-collecting apps…” Others pointed out that this would hopefully prevent apps from repeatedly requesting access to the address book even after being denied. Now users could grant them access, but limit which contacts they could actually absorb.
Additionally, if a developer’s app allows users to search for contacts to add, they also don’t need to request full access with iOS 18.
Instead, the new contact access button lets an app show results for contacts the app doesn’t have access to along with a button that says “Add” next to each contact’s name. This way, users can pick and choose which contacts they want to provide to the app on a one-to-one basis with a single tap.
