Frequently asked questions
- Where do my keywords go?
- Straight into your Apple Photos library, as the same keyword field Photos itself uses — any app that reads Photos keywords sees them, and they stay in your library if you delete TAG Lens.
- Does TAG Lens upload my photos?
- No — your photos never leave your Mac for the internet. Every network feature is off by default behind its own consent switch, and each sends only what’s named: related-keyword enrichment sends only the tag term you typed to a public reference API (Wikidata, and/or Grokipedia — a keyless wiki lookup with its own consent switch); AI keyword suggestions send only that term to the AI provider you choose (xAI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Groq, DeepSeek, or your own local/custom endpoint — using your own key); place-name lookup sends a photo’s GPS coordinates to Apple’s geocoder; and place-from-photo-text sends a place name read off a sign in a No-Location photo (never the photo) to Apple’s location search. The only feature that reads a photo’s pixels works solely with a model running on your own Mac (a loopback address) — those pixels never reach an internet endpoint. Details in the privacy policy.
- Can I undo a change?
- Every metadata write records its reverse on ⌘Z — up to 50 actions in a session, and a multi-photo batch undoes as one action. Deleting is the exception: deleted photos go to Photos’ own Recently Deleted album, recoverable for about 30 days.
- Can TAG Lens delete my photos without asking?
- No. The app never deletes on its own. Both delete paths — culling rejected photos and the inspector Delete button — go through Apple’s standard system confirmation dialog, after which items land in Photos’ Recently Deleted, recoverable for about 30 days.
- Does TAG Lens edit my photos?
- Never. It is not a photo editor: it writes metadata — keywords, titles, captions, favorites, album membership, capture dates, locations — and never modifies image pixels.
- Why did my star ratings disappear after a Photos library rebuild?
- Photos has no write API for star ratings, so TAG Lens keeps stars and reject marks in an app-local file keyed to each photo’s Photos identifier — and a rebuild can change those identifiers. Export a JSON backup from Settings ▸ Ratings Backup before a migration, then import to reattach them.
- Does it work with iCloud Photos?
- Yes. Metadata TAG Lens writes syncs to your other devices the same way any edit made in Photos itself does — on iPhone and iPad, search finds your keywords (iOS has no screen that displays them). If an original lives only in iCloud, TAG Lens can fetch it automatically for viewing (Settings ▸ General ▸ Download originals automatically); metadata edits work either way.
- TAG Lens can’t see my photos, or says Photos control is not authorized
- TAG Lens needs two macOS permissions: Photos library access (System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Photos) and automation control of Photos (System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Automation) to write keywords, titles, and captions. Step-by-step fixes on the support page.
- What does it need to run?
- macOS 14 or later, and your Apple Photos library. No account or sign-in for tagging, and no subscription — culling and rating are free forever, keywording your first 500 photos is free, and the optional one-time unlock for unlimited keywording is a standard App Store purchase with your Apple Account.
Something else? Get in touch.