# Permissions

Which feature triggers each camera, microphone, speech, notification, and Screen Time request, what declining disables, and how to change a decision later.

> Type: Reference · Status: Stable · Platforms: iPadOS 17+, iPadOS 17+ · Last reviewed: 2026-07-18

Page Turner asks for a system permission the first time a specific feature needs it — never at first launch. Each request maps to one group of features. Declining disables only that group; the rest of the app keeps working.

## What each permission unlocks

| Permission | First requested when | Used for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Camera | You start `Scan a score`, turn on `Enable face gesture`, or run camera-assisted hand measurement | Capturing paper scores; watching the front camera for face gestures — mouth open, eyebrows raise, head turn — that turn pages hands-free; measuring your palm width for fingering |
| Microphone | A listening feature starts: `Follow`, `Recording Studio`, the `Reference pitch` tuner — or you dictate instead of typing | Hearing your playing so pages turn automatically; recording takes; measuring pitch; capturing your voice for dictation |
| Speech Recognition | You tap a microphone button to dictate | Dictating questions to the tutor in the `About` tab and dictating a `Report a problem` message — transcription runs on-device |
| Notifications | A `Convert to Smart Score` job starts | One alert when the conversion finishes (or fails), so you can leave the app during a long conversion |
| Screen Time | You turn on `Block social apps` in Focus Mode | Shielding the apps you pick for as long as a Focus session is locked |

Audio heard by `Follow` is processed on the device. It leaves the device only if you record a take and choose to publish it.

Dictation needs two permissions: Speech Recognition first, then Microphone. Declining either one stops dictation; the app tells you which switch to flip.

When you turn on `Block social apps`, Apple's own app picker opens. Page Turner cannot read which apps you chose — the system hands them over in a form the app can only shield, not inspect.

## What needs no permission

- `Import files…` opens the system Files picker. Page Turner receives only the files you select and copies them into its own storage; your originals are not moved or changed. See [Import files](/docs/import/files).
- Bluetooth page pedals (AirTurn, PageFlip, Donner and the like) pair with your iPad as a Bluetooth keyboard in iPadOS Settings. Once paired, they turn pages with no app-level permission. See [Hands-free page turning](/docs/accessibility/hands-free).
- Recording lookups. When Page Turner finds recordings of a piece, they open as embedded players or links — the current build never asks for access to your Apple Music library.

## If you decline

| Permission declined | What stops working | What still works |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Camera | `Scan a score` cannot capture; the face gesture panel shows `Camera access needed` with a shortcut to Settings | Importing the same score as a PDF or image through `Import files…`; pedal and tap page turns |
| Microphone | `Follow` cannot hear you, so pages will not turn from your playing; `Recording Studio` cannot record; the `Reference pitch` tuner has no input; dictation cannot capture your voice | Reading, annotating, turning pages by tap, swipe, or pedal |
| Speech Recognition | Dictating tutor questions and problem reports | Typing them |
| Notifications | The completion alert | The conversion itself — it finishes either way; reopen the app to check its status |
| Screen Time | `Block social apps` cannot raise its shield | The rest of Focus Mode: passage lock, the timer, and the hold-to-unlock gate |

## Change a decision

iOS shows each permission prompt once. After you allow or decline, Page Turner cannot ask again — the switch moves to the system Settings app.

1. Open the iPadOS `Settings` app.
2. Open `Privacy & Security` and select the permission (for example `Microphone`), or find Page Turner in the app list to see all of its permissions on one screen.
3. Turn the permission on or off.
4. Return to Page Turner and start the feature again. `Follow`, the tuner, and face gestures pick up the new setting when you restart them.

> **Note** Face gestures are enabled from inside an open score: Toolbox (wrench) › `Accessibility` › `Face gesture page turning`, then `Enable face gesture`. The same `Accessibility` section holds `Bluetooth page pedal`. If camera access was declined, the face gesture panel shows `Camera access needed` with a shortcut to Settings.

> **Important** A permission switch does not describe data handling by itself. For what is stored on the device, what a published take contains, and what cloud conversion uploads, read [Data and audio](/docs/privacy/data-and-audio) and the [privacy policy](/legal.html#privacy).

> **Limit** Face gestures require the front TrueDepth camera; on devices without one the feature cannot run even with camera access. `Scan a score` is absent from the `Add score` menu on devices that do not support system document scanning — that is a hardware limit, not a permission. Parental controls or a managed-device policy can also lock a permission; Page Turner cannot override those.

> **Limit** Screen Time blocking covers only the device it runs on. To block apps on your iPhone as well, install Page Turner there and turn on `Block social apps` inside its own Focus Mode — your iPad cannot shield your phone.

If `Follow` has microphone access but does not react to your playing, the problem is usually the input device, not the permission — see [Troubleshoot Follow](/docs/troubleshooting/follow). For scanning and conversion problems, see [Import and conversion troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting/import-conversion).