Apple changes full-disk access permissions to curb abuse from AI agents

Apple has announced changes to its macOS privacy settings, aimed at preventing third-party app developers from misusing these settings to access message histories. The move comes two weeks after a tech columnist, Jason Aten, reported that Meta's new general-purpose AI agent, Muse, sent him an unsolicited notification referencing a conversation between him and a colleague over Apple Messages. Aten claimed he never granted Muse permission to read his messages and had assumed such messages were off-limits.

The incident sparked widespread discussion on social media, with many users expressing concern that AI assistants granted access to calendars, emails, messages, and other resources could be as dangerous as powerful tools like a power saw if not used responsibly. Meta's Chief Technology Officer, David Singleton, defended Muse, stating that for the AI agent to access Apple Messages, a user must manually grant it two permissions: full-disk access, a system-level macOS privilege, and enabling a Messages connector setting within Muse.