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React Native permissions generator

React Native contacts permission

Reading, and optionally writing, the device address book needs READ_CONTACTS and WRITE_CONTACTS on Android and NSContactsUsageDescription on iOS. Both stores treat contacts as personal data belonging to people other than the user, and the prompt text is reviewed with that in mind.

expo-contacts declares both grants and exposes requestPermissionsAsync. If the app only needs one contact chosen by the user, the system contact picker may return it without any permission; declare the grant when the app reads or syncs the whole list.

Contacts at a glance

Android grants
android.permission.READ_CONTACTS android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS
iOS Info.plist key
NSContactsUsageDescription
Expo package
expo-contacts
Config plugin
expo-contacts
What it enables
Read (and optionally write) the device address book.
What the user agrees to
Read the people in your contacts

The declarations, for Expo and the bare workflow

Expo config

app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSContactsUsageDescription": "TODO: why this app reads your contacts."
      }
    },
    "android": {
      "permissions": [
        "android.permission.READ_CONTACTS",
        "android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS"
      ]
    },
    "plugins": [
      "expo-router",
      "expo-contacts"
    ]
  }
}

Prebuild writes these into the native projects; the config plugin is what makes the package's native code part of the build.

Bare workflow, Android

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_CONTACTS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS" />

Bare workflow, iOS

ios/<App>/Info.plist
<key>NSContactsUsageDescription</key>
<string>TODO: why this app reads your contacts.</string>

The TODO is deliberate: the usage description is shown in the consent prompt and App Review rejects boilerplate.

Install the library

terminal
npx expo install expo-contacts

Contacts permission, answered

The longer version is in the guide React Native permissions that satisfy both stores.

What permission does React Native need for contacts?
On Android, declare android.permission.READ_CONTACTS and android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS in AndroidManifest.xml (or expo.android.permissions in app.json). On iOS, add NSContactsUsageDescription to Info.plist (or expo.ios.infoPlist) with a sentence explaining why — the user reads it in the consent prompt. expo-contacts exposes the runtime request.
Do I still have to request contacts at runtime?
Yes. The declaration only makes the request possible. The first time the feature is used, call the request API from expo-contacts; the operating system shows the prompt ("Read the people in your contacts") and remembers the answer. A declared but never requested permission does nothing, and a requested but never declared one fails.
Why was my app rejected over the contacts permission?
Most often the NSContactsUsageDescription string: App Review rejects a missing one at once and a vague or boilerplate one frequently. Write what the app does with the data in your own words. Google Play reviews the declaration against the app's visible features, so a grant no screen uses is also a finding.

Declare every feature the app uses

The React Native permissions generator builds the complete set from the same catalogue — tick each device feature and copy the paired Android grants and iOS usage descriptions, the Expo app.json fragment and the install line together. In the Nodlume workspace the declarations come from the screens themselves: a screen that uses the camera is what adds the camera permission to the Expo Router project it exports.

Open the generator

Other React Native permissions

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