How to manage ‘Local Network Access’ on your iPhone or iPad and grant or revoke permission for apps

• Some apps on your iPhone and iPad may ask for permission to find and connect to devices on your local network. 
• These apps usually need to find compatible devices on your network — smart home apps may need to connect to smart speakers and other smart devices, for example. 
• Here’s how to approve or revoke access to these apps.

If you have iOS 14 or later on your iPhone (or iPadOS 14 on an iPad), then you might have seen an app ask permission to “find and connect to devices on your local network.” It’s not always clear what this vaguely worded message is asking for. Here’s everything you need to know about iPhone apps and local network access.

Why apps ask for local network access on your iPhone or iPad

While it’s a relatively new innovation for apps to ask permission to find and connect to devices on your local network, what’s actually going on is not new or different; apps have been doing this for years. The difference is that Apple now requires apps to request permission. 

When you see this, an app usually wants to scan the network to look for compatible devices.

Dave Johnson

The local network is generally your Wi-Fi network, and when an app requests permission to find and connect to devices on the network, it’s generally doing so to see if there’s a compatible device that it can work with. For example, music and audio apps might want to see if there’s a compatible portable speaker or smart speaker on your network that it can stream or cast to. Or a smart home app might need to scan your network to find all the compatible devices connected in your home.  

Not all apps tell you why they want permission to find and connect to devices, though Apple allows developers to customize the message with more details about what it is looking for. 

Should you give apps permission to find and connect to devices on your local network?

In general, giving permission is safe and enables the app to work as designed. Even so, if it’s not clear why the app is asking permission or if you don’t need or want the extra features that this kind of connectivity would offer, you can safely deny permission. Even if you deny permission, the app can still access the internet — it simply can’t scan your network for additional information. And if you later change your mind, you can give the app permission via Settings (see the next section). 

How to grant or revoke local network access on an iPhone or iPad

Regardless of whether you grant or deny permission for an app to find and connect to devices on your local network, you can change your mind at any time and grant or revoke that permission later. To do that, start the Settings app and tap Privacy & Security. Tap Local Network, and you should see a list of all devices which have or want permission. You can control access using the button to the right of each app. 

You can give or revoke access to the local network at any time from the Settings app.

Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he’s also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.

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