Third-party apps and extensions expand your editing options in Photos for iOS and macOS. You can apply edits from multiple apps and extensions to one photo, or use any combination of apps and extensions plus the editing tools built into Photos.
Use third-party extensions on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
How to Reset Any Mac App to Its Default Settings. Learn how to find apps with Photos extensions for your iOS device, turn on the extensions, and then use them to edit photos.
Third-party apps may be welcomed or forbidden by the device or website owner. For example, the Safari web browser app that comes on the iPhone is a first-party, built-in app made by Apple, but the App Store contains other web browser apps that Apple approved for use on the iPhone but did not develop. Choose what type of apps that you want to let users install. Note: Only the primary account user can install apps and extensions from the Google Play store. Allow all other apps and extensions—Users can install all apps and extensions from the Google Play store. These settings enable 3rd party macOS app delivery. Prompted click Allow. Do not download the app from the Mac App Store to. An operating system or application.
Install iOS apps that offer extensions
![Allow 3rd Party Apps On Mac Os Allow 3rd Party Apps On Mac Os](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133914158/372972709.jpg)
Use the App Store on your device to find and install apps that allow full editing from Photos or include extensions for Photos. Connect mac mini to ipad. Apps that include Photos extensions often say so in their descriptions; search for terms like 'Photos extension' to explore more apps.
You can also choose from the apps listed in Edit Images Faster With Photo Extensions on the App Store.
Turn on extensions on your iOS device
After you install apps that include Photos extensions on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, turn the extensions on:
- Open the Photos app, then tap a photo.
- Tap Edit, and then tap .
- In the menu that appears, swipe to the left until you see the More button, and then tap it.
- You see your apps that include Photos extensions. You can turn them on or off, or drag them up or down to change their order. When you’re finished, tap Done.
Edit photos with extensions on your iOS device
- Open the Photos app, then tap a photo.
- Tap Edit, then tap .
- Select an app from the menu that appears.
- Edit the photo with the extension's tools.
- When you're satisfied with your edits, click Done. You can choose another extension to apply more edits to the photo, or use any of the editing tools that are built into Photos.
- If you're finished with all edits, click Done to exit the edit mode.
Use third-party extensions on your Mac
Learn how to find apps with Photos extensions for your Mac, turn on the extensions, and then use them to edit photos.
Install Mac apps that allow editing or offer extensions
Photos for macOS makes finding third-party apps easy:
- Double-click a photo in your library to open it in single view, then click Edit.
- Click , then choose App Store.
The Mac App Store opens to a selection of third-party photo editing apps that are compatible with Photos.
You can also choose from the apps listed in Extensions for Fast Photo Edits on the App Store.
Turn on extensions on your Mac
After you install apps that include Photos extensions on your Mac, turn the extensions on:
- Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Extensions.
- Click Photos Editing in the left sidebar. Your apps that include Photos extensions appear.
- Turn on the extensions that you want to use in Photos. You can also drag them up or down to adjust the order that they appear in Photos.
Edit photos with extensions on your Mac
- Double-click a photo in your library to open it in single view, then click Edit.
- Click .
- Choose an app from the menu that appears.
- Edit the photo with the extension's tools that appear.
- When you're satisfied with your edits, click Save Changes. You can choose another extension to apply more edits to the photo, or use any of the editing tools that are built into Photos.
- If you're finished with all edits, click Done to exit the edit mode.
![Allow 3rd party apps on mac os versions Allow 3rd party apps on mac os versions](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133914158/168325029.png)
Edit photos within third-party apps on your Mac
With Photos for macOS High Sierra and later, you can send a photo to most third-party photo apps for editing, then save the changes right back into your library.
- Control-click a photo and choose Edit With from the contextual menu. Then choose from the list of third-party editing apps on your Mac. You can also click a photo and then choose Image > Edit With in the menu bar.
- The photo opens in the third-party app that you chose. Make your edits, and then save.
If the app saves photos in a non-standard format, look for an option to save as JPEG or another format that Photos supports.
Your edited photo appears automatically in Photos.
Learn more
- When you edit a photo with third-party extensions or the built-in tools that Photos offers, you can always start over with the original photo. Open the photo in edit mode, then click Revert to Original on your Mac or tap Revert if you're using an iOS device.
- If you use iCloud Photos, remember that it keeps your photos organized and up to date everywhere that you use the same Apple ID. So any edits that you make on one device appear on your other devices too.
Starting with OS X Mountain Lion, Apple introduced Gatekeeper so users couldn’t easily install downloaded apps from outside the Mac App Store.
When someone downloads an app from somewhere other than the Mac App Store they will get one of a few warning messages depending on what security settings they’ve set in System Preferences. We’ll show users how to set the security settings in Security & Privacy section of the OS X System Preferences using any version of OS X after Mountain Lion so they can install downloaded apps from outside the Mac App Store.
Why Can’t I Install 3rd-Party Apps By Default?
If you don’t care about why this works, skip to the next section. Here’s why Apple sets OS X to disallow 3rd-party apps by default, for those who like to understand why things work as they do.
Cynics will say that Apple does this because they don’t get a 30% cut from applications bought directly from third-party apps instead of their curated app store. A $10 app nets Apple $3 and the developer gets only $7. The developer gets the entire $10 if the app is sold directly.
Apple says they set things blocking third-party apps because they want to protect users who might install downloaded apps with malware or viruses. They take the 30% cut to cover the cost of hosting the Mac App Store and testing apps to keep malware out of the store. In other words, they want to help protect us from our own mistakes.
Apple offers three setting options in the Security & Privacy Settings in System Preferences. Apple set the default to help protect users from Malware or to lock down computers depending on which explanation you prefer.
Apple created Gatekeeper, a program to protect users from Malware. Developers can get a security certificate from Apple through the Apple Developer program. If a developer distributes their app on the Mac App Store, they have to follow certain guidelines to get approved. These guidelines try to keep malware out of the store. Developers can also add a security certificate to their apps. The certificate is some code inserted into the app code. Users can set their machines to allow third-party apps downloaded from the Internet, but only if they include one of these security certificates.
Find out how to change the settings below so you can install downloaded apps from trusted third-party websites. Don’t install apps from just any site because relaxing security settings could potentially open the door to malware and viruses.
How to Install Apps from Outside the Mac App Store
To install third-party apps, the user must change a setting in the Security & Privacy section of System Preferences, the Settings app in OS X.
Open OS X System Preferences by clicking on the app icon from OS X Dock or by clicking the Apple icon in the Menu Bar in the upper left corner of the screen. When the menu pops up, click on System Preferences.
Click on Security & Privacy from the top row of the System Preferences app. Choose the General tab to see the settings below.
There’s a lock icon at the bottom of the dialog box. Click it to enable all the settings in the box. The OS will ask the user to enter their administrator’s password. Click OK and the grayed out settings become clickable.
The settings we need to work with show up at the bottom half of the dialog box. There are three options under Allow apps downloaded from:. Here are the descriptions taken from Apple’s support site.
- Mac App Store – Only apps that came from the Mac App Store can open.
- Mac App Store and identified developers (default in OS X) – Only allow apps that came from the Mac App Store and developers using Gatekeeper can open.
- Anywhere – Allow applications to run regardless of their source on the Internet (default in OS X Lion v10.7.5); Gatekeeper is effectively turned off. Note: Developer ID-signed apps that have been inappropriately altered will not open, even with this option selected.
If the user chooses the first two options, they can close the dialog box and continue. However, if the user chooses Anywhere, the above warning pops up to scare the user from using this setting. It says:
Choosing “Anywhere” makes your Mac less secure.
The warning box explains that OS X resets this setting after 30 days. Users will have to come back here and do the above steps again. Further, it explains that it’s safer to let the OS warn you each time you launch an app, which includes an option to allow it by clicking an OK button if you select the middle option of the three.
Allow 3rd Party Apps On Mac Os Versions
Which Option Should You Choose?
Those who only install apps from the Mac App Store should not bother changing the default settings. Make sure to select the first option labelled Mac App Store and close the box. If you want to install and run any app you want and don’t worry at all about malware, then choose the third option labelled Anywhere. I use the second option since I can still install third-party apps, but they have to come from developers who take the time to add an Apple Developer security certificate to their app. These are safe, but can come from outside the Mac App Store.
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