There might be thousands of solutions for how to fix the Wallet app accessing iPhone contacts but do you find any of these work ever? To be honest, there’s actually no solution to this problem. Maybe it’s hard to accept but once you know why this access is important when it comes to the Wallet app, you will not regret it anymore.
The very first reason is, not only the Wallet app but you can not deny access to any built-in apps for the proper functioning of your iPhone.
Therefore, knowing the purpose of Apple Wallet and why it needs access to your contacts is far more important than fixing Wallet apps accessing contacts. Let’s explore why the Wallet app needs access to your contact and whether it’s secured or not!
Contents
What Is An Apple Wallet App?
The Apple Wallet app is a pre-installed iPhone app to save credits, debits, and transit card details. Its functionality also extends to car keys, boarding passes, and lots more. But note that some features of the Wallet app are unavailable in certain regions and languages.
Key features of the Apple Wallet app are:
- Apple Pay: This feature substitutes the need to always carry physical cards. It offers payment and transactions more conveniently and safely.
- Apple Card: The Apple Card allows users to make purchases. Users also enjoy cash benefits on every purchase they make. Lastly, the Apple card contains other tools for additional functions.
- Apple cash: Apple Cash operates more like a physical debit card. With Apple Cash, iPhone users can make safe, contactless purchases in walk-in stores and on the internet and send and receive money. More interestingly, you can do all of this with just a text.
- Additional features on the app are Transit, Car Keys, Student ID, Home Keys, Hotel Keys, Office Keys, Rewards and Loyalty Cards, Boarding Passes, and Event Tickets. These features allow you to unlock/start your car, open compatible doors with keys added to your Wallet app, and add an employee ID/Badge for access to doors and locations where such are required.
Note: The additional features mentioned here are subject to change over time. The Wallet app requires a recent iOS version for it to function correctly. Lastly, Goldman Sachs Bank USA is responsible for issuing Apple Cards.
Also, some features are available with specific partners and locations.
Wallet App Specifications
| App name | Apple Wallet |
| Category | Finance |
| Compatible devices | iOS 10.0 or later |
| Seller | Apple Inc. |
| Price | Free |
Wallet App Keeps Accessing Contacts – Here’s Why?
The Wallet app keeps accessing your contacts due to its pre-granted permission. You can’t alter this setting, given that Apple restricts such modification for system apps. Moreover, the Wallet app may also access other aspects of your iPhone, like card information, usage data, and location.
In short, the Wallet app keeps accessing contacts on your iPhone due to the default operating method. As an iPhone user, you can deactivate third-party apps from accessing your contacts. But, the same is not possible with pre-installed apps like Apple Wallet.
Why the Wallet App Needs to Access Your Contacts – Is It Safe?
It is absolutely safe to permit the built-in Apple apps to take the access to contacts and media on your iPhone. The concern may arise only when it comes to third party apps.
As stated earlier, the Apple Wallet app may need to access your contacts to function correctly. Primarily, the Wallet app was designed to allow users to send and receive funds to and from their contacts.
Opening the app to perform such transactions prompts it to access your contact information to complete the tasks. Here’s how you can make such transactions using Apple Cash in the Apple Wallet app.
Steps to Transfer Funds Using Apple Cash in Apple Wallet
- Launch the Wallet app on your iPhone and tap the Apple Cash card on the page.
- On the next page, hit the Request or Send button. Afterwards, choose your preferred recipient.
- Tap the Next button and input the amount you wish to transfer.
- Once that is done, tap the send button. To review or terminate the operation, tap the arrow-up button.
- Finalize your transaction with your password, Touch, or Face ID.
You can terminate the transaction if the recipient has yet to accept the funds. To cancel the transfer, follow the steps below.
Steps to Dispute or Cancel a Payment
- Launch the Messages app on your iPhone and locate the conversation with the payment detail.
- The Wallet app will then automatically open your Apple Cash card. Tap the payment under the Latest Transaction tab and repeat the action.
- Lastly, hit the Cancel Payment button on the next page.
If the Cancel Payment option is missing, the recipient has already received the funds. If necessary, you can ask for a return from the receiver. Your card issuer or financial institution determines how long the refund will take. But in most cases, it takes about 1 to 3 banking days.
Check out support.apple.com for more data on how the transferring and receiving of funds go.
Why Other Apps Would Require Your Contact Data?
The same reason also applies to other apps on your iPhone. Several applications would access your contacts because some functions depend on such data. Also, these apps may seek permission to access other data such as location, calendar, reminders, gallery, etc., similar to Apple Wallet.
This is not limited to iPhone apps only. Some Android apps seek such permission also. Popular apps that seek such permissions include App Store, Apple Health, Instagram, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Meanwhile, it’s possible to restrict third-party applications from accessing your contacts. You can do this from the Settings app on your iPhone.
How to Restrict Third-Party Apps from Accessing Contacts?
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- On the displayed menu, tap on Screen time.
- After that, select Content & Privacy restriction.
- On the following screen, you’ll see categories of information such as Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, location, Bluetooth, microphone, or Photos. Select Contacts.
- This will display all third-party apps requiring access to contacts on your iPhone. At the top of the page, select Allow Changes.
- Scroll to the app you wish to restrict.
- You’ll find a toggle to the right of it. If the toggle is green, the app has permission to access your contacts. Tap on the toggle to block the app from accessing your contacts. This action turns the toggle grey.
If you wish to share your contacts with the app once again, follow the steps above and tap on the toggle. A green toggle indicates that the app can access your contacts. To grant any other third-party app permission to your contacts, the steps described above still apply.
You must only share contacts with apps from trusted sources. Apps will see the names and phone numbers of all the contacts on your phone.
Some companies may sell such data to third parties who use it for fraudulent activities. After you grant an app access to your contacts, turning off the permission stops the app from sharing your contacts. However, if the app’s seller saved your contacts on another device, you’ll have no way to erase such data.
So, it’s important to read the prompts when installing an app on your device.
Conclusion
The wallet app keeps accessing contacts on your iPhone based on its default settings. While it’s impossible to modify these settings, you can deactivate the permission for third-party applications.
Many third-party and non-third-party apps on your iPhone require access to your contact for certain functions. Some popular ones include WhatsApp, Safari, Google Contacts, Snapchat, Facebook, Telegram, and the Wallet app.
Usually, these apps seek permission before accessing your contacts, particularly on first use. Moreover, for third party apps there are fixes for blocking access. But built-in apps like Apple Wallet have legitimate reasons for accessing contacts based on its functionality and if you deny the contact access permission the app will not perform anymore.
