To your point there are plenty of apps that explicitly operate on the photo reel so the api/permission is needed. Steelmanning the point: plenty of apps request photo permissions that shouldn’t need it. This is really an Apple problem though. They have their selective access option which is a patch on the problem inconvenient for the user. I have two apps that end up requesting photo permissions because basic things like saving or loading a photo require the full set of permissions. I would much rather Apple just have a widget that allows me to pipe that data in as a black box, since the pop up message is distracting and I only need the most basic capability. Instead they do some prop 65 warning where even the most basic and reasonable uses trip the warning and what’s app is allowed to scan your entire library with the same permission.

> I have two apps that end up requesting photo permissions because basic things like saving or loading a photo require the full set of permissions.

Absolutely not. Saving a photo does not need the full permissions. If an app does that, the developer is either ignorant or malicious. I see multiple apps that only have "Add Photos Only" permission including apps like Duolingo that.

Similarly the use case of allowing the user to pick one photo doesn't require any permissions at all. Just use the system photo picker. I post reviews with photos regularly on Google Maps and the Google Maps app doesn't have any photo permissions.

> plenty of apps request photo permissions that shouldn’t need it

True, and this could maybe be solved by better app store review.

Every app submitted to the app store is reviewed by a human for approval. The reviewers could apply more scrutiny to photo permissions and reject apps whose permissions aren't justified.