[aw3c2]

Does iOS do anything to prevent this?

[izacus]

Yes, iOS prevents you from directly accessing the images and apps sharing files between themselves.

Which has been one of the major reasons some people used Android - the ability to use their phone more like a computer.

[scarface74]

No, iOS prevents the application from directly accessing files without the user’s permission. The user can choose to allow access granularly to a file via the file picker within the app.

There are also separate permissions to allow apps to read and write from the media library.