Affinity Photo 2.5.5 does not allow full access to photos kept in the Photos App on iPadOS 18.1

[Dave Wong]

Hi, 

   I am currently using Affinity Photo 2.5.5.2636 on my iPad Pro 12.9" 5th generation. It is running on iPadOS 18.1.

  When I tried to open photos by selecting "Import From Photos", not all photos kept in the Photos app are displayed. There is only private access.

  When I tried to allow full access to Affinity Photo by going into "Privacy and Security" under the Settings of iPad Pro, there is no option for Photos 2 to allow full access. There is only the Onedrive option that allows full access to photos in the Photos app. Please refer to the attached images below.

  Can someone advice if this is a bug? 

  Thank you!

[NotMyFault]

The setting can be found in iPad settings, Apps, Photo 2.

 

[Paul Mudditt]

The BETA version shows up as Private Access and the release version shows up as Add Photos Only on my iPad Pro M1 but as far as I can tell I still have Full access to any and all of my photos whether set to Private access or Add Photos Only. So I don't think it matters or it is an iPadOS bug. Screenshots showing Add Photos Only and Private access on Beta version and release version, but actually I have full access on both versions.

[Dave Wong]

Hi @NotMyFault,

  I went into Photo 2 settings but the only thing stated within the app is private access. There is no option to change to "Full Access". Based on @Paul Mudditt description, there seems to be a bug since his beta version did not distinguish between Beta version and release version.

  Please refer to my screenshots below.

 

  Can anyone suggest a resolution or can the engineering team look into this issue?

Thanks,

Dave

[Paul Mudditt]

What happens when you select Import from photos, can you screenshot what you see, if it looks like my screenshots then that is full access no matter what it says on screen. 

[NotMyFault]

2 hours ago, Dave Wong said:

Hi @NotMyFault,

  I went into Photo 2 settings but the only thing stated within the app is private access. There is no option to change to "Full Access". Based on @Paul Mudditt description, there seems to be a bug since his beta version did not distinguish between Beta version and release version.

  Please refer to my screenshots below.

 

  Can anyone suggest a resolution or can the engineering team look into this issue?

Thanks,

Dave

What happens if you clock on "private access"? Normally you another popup allows to choose between None / Limited Access / Full Access

Is your device managed by IT department or any other organisation? Those can restricts options in settings. It really looks like the device is managed by MobileIron, InTune etc. MDM Apps can offer a private and corporate "sandbox" so apps may get restricted which data can bee accessed.

 

The behaviour is strictly on the Apple / iOS side, Affinity has nothing to do with it. I'm already on iPad OS 18.0.1.

[Dave Wong]

Hi @Paul Mudditt , it seems like all my photos kept in the Photos app appear now when I select "Import from Photos". Some photos were missing when I started this post.

However, as per @NotMyFault's request, the "Photo option in "Photo 2" has disappeared. It's strange because based on an earlier screenshot, there was a "Photos" option. But now, it has suddenly disappeared. Thus, I strongly believe there's a bug. By the way, I'm using my iPad Pro as a personal device, hence there is no IT department restriction as this iPad Pro isn't managed by any external organisation.

Please refer to the screenshots below for clarity:

Screenshot after I selected "Import from Photos" as per requested by @Paul Mudditt. All my photos kept in Photos app seems to appear now, but "Photo" option has disappeared in apps' setting (refer to second screenshot below) :

 

Screenshot of missing "Photos" option under "ALLOW PHOTO 2 TO ACCESS". Please compare this screenshot with my earlier reply where the "Photos" option is available.

 

Now I'm pretty sure there is a bug somewhere. The engineering team has to take a look.

Thanks,

Dave

[Paul Mudditt]

Instead of looking under the apps, look under privacy and security -> photos so like in my image above you can see at a glance all the apps that access photos and what restrictions are on each app.

Thank you for the screen shot, note that the left hand pane slides up and down to reveal all of your photos and albums etc, which is the important issue, what is displayed under iPadOS settings is irrelevant so long as all photos are accessible. A bug that Apple have to fix nothing Serif can do to fix it. 

[Dave Wong]

5 hours ago, Paul Mudditt said:

Instead of looking under the apps, look under privacy and security -> photos so like in my image above you can see at a glance all the apps that access photos and what restrictions are on each app.

Thank you for the screen shot, note that the left hand pane slides up and down to reveal all of your photos and albums etc, which is the important issue, what is displayed under iPadOS settings is irrelevant so long as all photos are accessible. A bug that Apple have to fix nothing Serif can do to fix it. 

Hi @Paul Mudditt, I did look under privacy and security -> photos, but there is no "Photo 2" option. I had uploaded the relevant screenshot in my first post, and I reattach the screenshot again below:

Cropped screenshot only showing the Onedrive app having access to Photo library. There is no "Photo 2" option under "Privacy & Security".

If this is really an iPadOS 18.1 issue, can Affinity engineering team flag this issue to Apple?

Thanks,

Dave

[NotMyFault]

I would recommend the following sequence 

• save all afphoto files saved in the Photo 2 sandbox folder / homescreen to a another folder.
• deinstall afphoto
• install latest iPadOS and reboot IPad
• reinstall Photo 2
• when using it the first time, and importing an image from Photo Library, carefully inspect the pop-up question and grant full access
• Use all ways to access the library, e.g. import, place, bitmap fill to check it works in all situations.

[Dave Wong]

Hi @NotMyFault,

  I deleted the Photo 2 app and reinstall it. My iPadOS was in fact recently reinstalled to iPadOS 18.1. After reinstalling Photo 2, I can see Photo 2 in both "Privacy and Security -> Photos" and "Apps -> Photo 2". However in both settings, there is only private access without any option for full access. However within Affinity Photo 2.5.5, I think I can see all photos when I select "Open -> Import From Photos". I have captured all screenshots for clarity attached below:

Under "Privacy and Security -> Photos", I can see Photo 2 option.

Within Photo 2 option in "Privacy and Security -> Photos", I can see only Private Access without option to grant full access.

Under Photos in "Apps -> Photo 2", there is also only Private Access without option to grant full access.

Within Affinity Photo 2.5.5, after I select "Open -> Import From Photos", the screen shows "Private Access to Photos" as shown below.

I have one finding though. After I removed the message within Affinity Photo 2.5.5 app, "Open -> Import from Photos" as shown in the screenshot below, there is no more Photo 2 option within "Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Photos" and "Settings -> Apps -> Photo 2". All 3 screenshots are attached below:

No more Photo 2 option within "Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Photos" after I removed the message in Affinity Photo 2.5.5 as shown above.

No more Photo 2 option within "Settings -> Apps -> Photo 2" after I removed the message in Affinity Photo 2.5.5 as shown above.

 

Thus, I believe I have found a bug within Affinity Photo 2.5.5, as removing the message in the app affect the settings. It seems like this does not concern me since I need full access even though the Affinity Photo 2 app showed me only private access. The Affinity engineering team might want to look into this in the next update!

Thanks,

Dave

[Paul Mudditt]

3 hours ago, Dave Wong said:

Hi @NotMyFault,

  I deleted the Photo 2 app and reinstall it. My iPadOS was in fact recently reinstalled to iPadOS 18.1. After reinstalling Photo 2, I can see Photo 2 in both "Privacy and Security -> Photos" and "Apps -> Photo 2". However in both settings, there is only private access without any option for full access. However within Affinity Photo 2.5.5, I think I can see all photos when I select "Open -> Import From Photos". I have captured all screenshots for clarity attached below:

Under "Privacy and Security -> Photos", I can see Photo 2 option.

Within Photo 2 option in "Privacy and Security -> Photos", I can see only Private Access without option to grant full access.

Under Photos in "Apps -> Photo 2", there is also only Private Access without option to grant full access.

Within Affinity Photo 2.5.5, after I select "Open -> Import From Photos", the screen shows "Private Access to Photos" as shown below.

I have one finding though. After I removed the message within Affinity Photo 2.5.5 app, "Open -> Import from Photos" as shown in the screenshot below, there is no more Photo 2 option within "Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Photos" and "Settings -> Apps -> Photo 2". All 3 screenshots are attached below:

No more Photo 2 option within "Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Photos" after I removed the message in Affinity Photo 2.5.5 as shown above.

No more Photo 2 option within "Settings -> Apps -> Photo 2" after I removed the message in Affinity Photo 2.5.5 as shown above.

 

Thus, I believe I have found a bug within Affinity Photo 2.5.5, as removing the message in the app affect the settings. It seems like this does not concern me since I need full access even though the Affinity Photo 2 app showed me only private access. The Affinity engineering team might want to look into this in the next update!

Thanks,

Dave

If you could see the bug within Affinity I would agree with you that it was in Serif’s control.

However the fact that you can only see it whilst browsing through iPadOS settings tells me it is Apple who are losing track of this parameter not Serif. 

This is especially as you acknowledge that you can see all photos from within Affinity regardless of what is or isn’t said in iPadOS settings. 

[Dave Wong]

48 minutes ago, Paul Mudditt said:

If you could see the bug within Affinity I would agree with you that it was in Serif’s control.

However the fact that you can only see it whilst browsing through iPadOS settings tells me it is Apple who are losing track of this parameter not Serif. 

This is especially as you acknowledge that you can see all photos from within Affinity regardless of what is or isn’t said in iPadOS settings. 

Hi @Paul Mudditt,

  Thank you for the clarification. If it is an iPadOS setting, let me follow up with Apple to see if they have got a solution. 

Thanks,

Dave

[NotMyFault]

Your screenshot show a VPN is active. This means you have installed another security app or security profile, which might cause the issue.

Please check the „VPN & Device Management“ section of the iPad settings. If feasible deactivate or deinstall any additional security apps, reboot the iPad and try again.

[Dave Wong]

16 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

Your screenshot show a VPN is active. This means you have installed another security app or security profile, which might cause the issue.

Please check the „VPN & Device Management“ section of the iPad settings. If feasible deactivate or deinstall any additional security apps, reboot the iPad and try again.

Hi @NotMyFault,

  I removed the VPN and restarted my iPad Pro. The Photo 2 option under "Privacy and Security -> Photos" and Photos option under "Apps -> Photo 2" initially reappeared after removing the VPN and restarting the iPad Pro. To further test if the settings will continue to show up, I started the Affinity Photo 2.5.5 app and checked the settings again. However, the Photo 2 option under "Privacy and Security -> Photos" and Photos option under "Apps -> Photo 2" disappeared again. I attach the screenshots below for your reference:

No VPN, no Photo 2 option under "Privacy and Security -> Photos" after restarting iPad Pro and restarting Affinity Photo 2.5.5

No VPN, no Photos option under "Apps -> Photo 2" after restarting iPad Pro and restarting Affinity Photo 2.5.5

 

Thus, the issue continue to exist after removing VPN. I will forward this thread to Apple support for their assistance. Thanks @NotMyFault and @Paul Mudditt.

regards,

Dave

[kimhsing]

i was thinking about upgrading to the affinity 2 for ipad so i did the trial and im having the same problem with no access to my photos. its been months and nobody has fixed this issue yet

[NotMyFault]

3 hours ago, kimhsing said:

i was thinking about upgrading to the affinity 2 for ipad so i did the trial and im having the same problem with no access to my photos. its been months and nobody has fixed this issue yet

Until today we have found nothing what Affinity can do, as the issue is probably caused by Apple or Microsoft.