How to add camera access to a SwiftUI app

What camera access does for an iOS app

Camera access lets an app capture a photo or video in the moment, for a profile picture, a document scan, a receipt, or an image to send to an AI model. Unlike the photo picker, capture touches a sensitive sensor, so the OS gates it behind an explicit permission the user must grant, and that permission stays revocable in Settings. Your job is to explain the use clearly, handle the denied case without breaking the flow, and only ask when the feature actually needs it. For choosing existing photos, the picker is the lighter, permission-free option.

Adding camera access with AppFlight

Camera capture needs the NSCameraUsageDescription string in Info.plist, and the wrapper that bridges UIKit into SwiftUI. In AppFlight you describe the feature, like taking a photo for a post, and the AI generates a UIViewControllerRepresentable around UIImagePickerController plus the state to present it in a sheet. AppFlight adds the usage string, which App Review reads, and you make sure it describes the real feature. There is no key involved, so nothing is classified as client or backend.

A SwiftUI example

Wrap UIImagePickerController and present it from a SwiftUI view:

import SwiftUI
import UIKit

struct CameraPicker: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
    var onCapture: (UIImage) -> Void

    func makeUIViewController(context: Context) -> UIImagePickerController {
        let picker = UIImagePickerController()
        picker.sourceType = .camera
        picker.delegate = context.coordinator
        return picker
    }

    func updateUIViewController(_ controller: UIImagePickerController, context: Context) {}

    func makeCoordinator() -> Coordinator { Coordinator(onCapture: onCapture) }

    final class Coordinator: NSObject, UIImagePickerControllerDelegate, UINavigationControllerDelegate {
        let onCapture: (UIImage) -> Void
        init(onCapture: @escaping (UIImage) -> Void) { self.onCapture = onCapture }

        func imagePickerController(
            _ picker: UIImagePickerController,
            didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo info: [UIImagePickerController.InfoKey: Any]
        ) {
            if let image = info[.originalImage] as? UIImage { onCapture(image) }
            picker.dismiss(animated: true)
        }
    }
}

Present it with .sheet(isPresented:), and add the NSCameraUsageDescription key to Info.plist so the permission prompt has a reason and the app does not crash.

Alternatives

For full control over a live capture screen, custom overlays, or barcode and document scanning, you build with AVFoundation using AVCaptureSession, at the cost of more code. VisionKit offers ready-made document and data scanners on top of the camera if that is your use case. When the user only needs to pick an existing image, PhotosPicker avoids the permission entirely and is the better default.