When Gmail can see only a few photos on your iPhone, the app may have limited access to your photo library. That does not necessarily mean the missing pictures were deleted or that Gmail needs permission to every photo.
Identify which photo source you opened
In a Gmail draft, tap Attach and check whether you chose Photos, Google Photos, Camera, or Files. These are different sources. A picture in iCloud Drive is a file; a picture stored only in Google Photos may not be in the device’s local photo library.
Open the intended photo in its original app. If it needs downloading, allow that to complete. Check the account in Google Photos when the missing picture belongs to a different Google Account.
Review Gmail’s photo permission
In iPhone Settings, open Privacy & Security, then Photos, and select Gmail if it appears. Review the permission level and the selected photos. The exact choices vary with iOS and the picker Gmail uses.
Where limited access is available, add only the pictures you want to share. Full access is a choice, not a general requirement for sending one image. An operating-system photo picker may let you select an item without granting ongoing library access.
Confirm the image in the draft
Return to Gmail and attach the intended picture. Google’s current iOS instructions allow up to five photos per selection. A single selected photo may appear inline; tap it and choose Send as attachment if you need an attachment instead.
Before sending, inspect the actual image and recipients. Permission to select a photo is separate from permission to save a received photo: downloading an image to Photos can trigger its own access requirement. If the issue persists, describe which picker and permission level you used. Do not reset all privacy settings or expose the whole library as the first troubleshooting step.
Browse Gmail & Google Account help
References
- Change your Gmail settings
- Send attachments with your Gmail message
- Open & download attachments in Gmail
- Control access to information in apps on iPhone
Reviewed against the linked product guidance, standards, and identified vendor or public-authority guidance on October 29, 2026. Available options and screen labels can vary by account, device, region, and organization policy.