Allow changes to photos not working under Screen Time restrictions on iPhone 15 Pro

I’ve been saying for over a year now with apple that I felt like someone’s using the work/ school account… But They Say NoWay LoL… I Act factory reset my phone last night … Everything… And it didn’t fix it and it was sketchy on letting my profiles back on the phone and it said no data was backed up so I was gonna start all over Untill somehow all the stuff I had just tried to erase was on there minus some passwords etc… but yeah like I never even factory reset it lol … Anyways Apple Support Wasn’t sure why photos was stuck and calendar on don’t allow changes so they sent me some diagnostics finally to try and solve the prob

I was having the same issue and this worked for me: Go to Screen Time > Content and Privacy Restrictions > Photos > press “Allow”, and then tap your lock button until you get the option to turn off your phone WHILE WITHIN the privacy restrictions photos menu. Once you restart, go back to the same settings menu and hopefully you’ll see the list of apps that have permissions to make changes to photos restored, and you’ll be able to properly grant permissions again.

Even with the new 18.6 Update this problem persists. Photo and Calendar will not allow toggling between "allow"and "disallow" in privacy restrictions. In the Content and Privacy options is stuck in "allow" under photos and calendars, while all other options ( Location Services, Contacts, Reminders, etc...) I was able to set on disallow. When you tap on the Allow> prompt on photos or Calendar you arrive at a screen that gives you the option to toggle between allow and disallow, there it is stuck in "disallow any changes", it is granting full calendar and photo access and will not allow you to change the setting. The option is not "greyed out" any attempt to move the check mark from disallow changes to allow changes won't save. So privacy restrictions is saying changes are allowed, but when you click on allow to toggle between allow and disallow, it is stuck on full access and disallow changes. No apps are listed with private access, the phone or profile is not managed by a third party, and I have been using Privacy and Content Restrictions to disallow all changes to any options offered in the restriction settings for years. This problem occurred after 18.4 was installed, and persists on all my devices- ipad pro 6th gen- ipad mini-5th gen, and iphone mini13. My wife's iPhone 15Pro and iPad Air, with a separate apple id, will not allow the changes to calendar or photo restrictions either.

1. Is this your corporate iPhone? Then please contact the system administrator of your corporate
2. If it is your personal device, in that case, do you have any profile installed by your corporate/organisation/enterprise/School Management?
   1. Erase the profile added by you If you have installed a profile on your own --> Install or remove configuration profiles on iPhone - Apple ...
   2. Or please contact the system administrator of the organisation who provided the profile to you

When a corporate profile (like a Mobile Device Management or MDM profile) is installed on an iPhone, it can control various parts of the device, including iCloud settings — but it depends on what the company has configured in that profile.

If the MDM profile enforces certain restrictions — like disabling iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos, or iCloud Keychain — those features might get turned off. In that case, data tied to those services (like photos, documents, or app data) won’t be deleted from iCloud itself, but they will be removed from the local device until the restriction is lifted.

However, if the corporate profile removes or signs you out of your iCloud Apple ID entirely, that could lead to more significant data loss on the device — like contacts, calendars, and notes if they were syncing through iCloud. Again, that data would still exist in iCloud (unless specifically wiped remotely), but it would disappear from the phone.

One big thing to watch out for: some corporate profiles can include remote management capabilities, which could let the company wipe the device entirely, including iCloud-related content.

So the loss of data on the device is possible — but whether it’s also removed from iCloud depends on the specific policies set up in the MDM profile and the actions the company takes.

I'm having the same issue on my iPhone 13, iPhone 12 mini and iPad 5th gen (all for personal use). Allow/Disallow changes in photos and calendar is on "allowed" regardless of what has been chosen. I don't have any configuration profiles installed, but I do have a VPN. It's the same without the VPN too; after resetting to fabric settings (before installing the VPN) it's still the same. The issue arrived with the iOS version before the current - 18.5.

Same issue.   

Problem seems to be with Settings > Screen Time > Content and Privacy Restrictions > iPhone 12, with both iOS 18.4 and 18.5.  1) Photos, “Allow Access” permission will not stay selected after I exit from restrictions screen.  2) App can’t upload from Photos library. 4) Was able to allow app access to camera, can directly take and upload pictures. 

No problem allowing/disallowing any other app/function on “Content and Privacy Restrictions” screen.

Personal phone, no connection to enterprise, no VPN.

Rebooted several times; updated to iOS 18.5 and rebooted; deleted and reinstalled app twice. Any other suggestions?

[Edited by Moderator]

I have this exact same problem with the Photos & Calendar section on both my iphone & my husband's iphone. He has a VPN on & I do not, so this is not related to VPN usage. He has a 16 pro max & I have a 16 pro. We both are on ios 18.5.

I've tried restarting so many times. Nothing works. APPLE PLEASE FIX THIS

Welldone_897 wrote:

Hope Apple will look into the matter.

They probably won't see it here. This Community forum is offered by Apple as an end-user to end-user technical issue support service (i.e., users like you helping other users). We are not Apple. Feedback for Apple will likely get more attention if you send it using: Product Feedback - Apple

Apple may not respond but your comment will be read.

I know, but it seems that it might be a small chance that Apple sometimes read some discussions and occasionally get in touch. See that info on your "Profile & preferences" - "Messages from Apple" - "Contact about your issue".

I think the problem is related to the operative system, not the product itself. When reading this thread it looks like several different product models have experienced the issue.

Anyway, I just sent a feedback to Apple, using the website you mentioned. Sent it as a bug report experienced by several users from the iOS version 18.4 and forward. I enclosed a link to this discussion thread. Thank you Limnos, for suggesting the website.

Mines doing the same thing after I put in this most recent update and calendar is doing the same….

Having same issue on iPads on iOS 18.4.1

I am having this issue on my iPhone 15 Pro with my calendar. I do not have a VPN nor do I have a corporate account On my iPhone. Any suggestions on how to fix? I am up-to-date on iOS 18.5

My similar issue is that I cannot change my calendar settings to “allow” in screen time. I have parental control set and I am the organizer. No VPN no corporate account.

[Edited by Moderator]

Me too! I have downloaded an app for an action camera and will not allow permission for photos! Any idea how to fix?