Permission Handler

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Guide: iOS Privacy Manifest (PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy) ​

Applies to: iOS 17.2+ App Store submissions built with Xcode 16+.

Background ​

Since April 2024, Apple requires apps to declare their use of "Required Reason APIs" in a PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file at the app target level. Xcode 16 (which became mandatory for new App Store submissions in mid-2025) validates this declaration at build and upload time. If your app uses permission-gated system APIs — camera, microphone, location, photos, contacts, calendars — without the right entries in PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy, builds will warn and submissions may bounce with "undeclared API usage" errors.

react-native-permissions ships its own pod-level PrivacyInfo file, but Xcode 16's CocoaPods integration does not always merge nested manifests into the app target. The safe approach is to declare everything at the app target level yourself, rather than relying on automatic merging.

What this library handles ​

react-native-permission-handler is pure TypeScript with no native code — it has no pod and ships no PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy of its own. The iOS APIs that trigger the Privacy Manifest requirement are called by the engine adapter (usually react-native-permissions via the RNP engine). You still need to declare the reasons in your app target.

Boilerplate template ​

Copy this file into your Xcode project as <YourAppTarget>/PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy. Uncomment only the entries for APIs your app actually touches — Apple wants a minimal, accurate manifest.

xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>NSPrivacyTracking</key>
  <false/>

  <key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypes</key>
  <array/>

  <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
  <array>
    <!-- File timestamp — needed when reading photo EXIF or saving cached files.
         NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp reason codes: C617.1, 3B52.1, 0A2A.1, 3D61.1 -->
    <dict>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
      <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp</string>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
      <array>
        <string>C617.1</string>
      </array>
    </dict>

    <!-- System boot time — common transitive usage. 35F9.1 / 8FFB.1 / 3D61.1 -->
    <dict>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
      <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategorySystemBootTime</string>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
      <array>
        <string>35F9.1</string>
      </array>
    </dict>

    <!-- Disk space — needed by libraries that cache to disk. E174.1 / 85F4.1 -->
    <dict>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
      <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryDiskSpace</string>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
      <array>
        <string>E174.1</string>
      </array>
    </dict>

    <!-- User defaults — needed by libraries using NSUserDefaults / AsyncStorage. CA92.1 / 1C8F.1 -->
    <dict>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
      <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults</string>
      <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
      <array>
        <string>CA92.1</string>
      </array>
    </dict>
  </array>
</dict>
</plist>

Permission usage descriptions go in Info.plist, not here. Apple's Privacy Manifest is about Required Reason APIs (non-privacy system calls like file timestamps), not about the permission prompts themselves. Your camera / microphone / location usage descriptions (NSCameraUsageDescription, etc.) belong in the regular Info.plist as always.

For the permissions this library routes through the RNP or Expo engine, add the matching usage strings to Info.plist:

PermissionInfo.plist key
CameraNSCameraUsageDescription
MicrophoneNSMicrophoneUsageDescription
Photo libraryNSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription
Photo library add-onlyNSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription
Location (when in use)NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription
Location (always / background)NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription
ContactsNSContactsUsageDescription
CalendarsNSCalendarsUsageDescription (iOS 16 and below)
Calendars (full)NSCalendarsFullAccessUsageDescription (iOS 17+)
Calendars (write-only)NSCalendarsWriteOnlyAccessUsageDescription (iOS 17+)
RemindersNSRemindersUsageDescription (iOS 16 and below)
Reminders (full)NSRemindersFullAccessUsageDescription (iOS 17+)
Motion & FitnessNSMotionUsageDescription
BluetoothNSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription
Speech recognitionNSSpeechRecognitionUsageDescription
Face IDNSFaceIDUsageDescription
App Tracking TransparencyNSUserTrackingUsageDescription

These strings are what the user sees in the system permission prompt. Keep them short, specific, and truthful — Apple's App Review rejects vague or boilerplate descriptions.

Debugging build failures ​

If Xcode uploads fail with "This app attempts to access privacy-sensitive data without a usage description" or "The app's Info.plist file should contain a ...UsageDescription key":

  1. Check Info.plist has the relevant usage description key.
  2. Check PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy exists at the app target level (not just inside a pod).
  3. Run pod install --repo-update and check that your app's Xcode project references the updated manifest.
  4. For new-architecture (bridgeless) apps, ensure the React Native version and react-native-permissions version are both recent enough to ship their own PrivacyInfo.

If a third-party pod ships an incompatible PrivacyInfo, Xcode 16 may emit warnings about the merged manifest. The workaround is to declare the union of all entries at the app target level so the app manifest is authoritative.

Upstream references ​