{
  "id": 11582998,
  "title": "Apple changes full-disk access permissions to curb abuse from AI agents",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/apple-changes-full-disk-access-permissions-to-curb-abuse-from-ai",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-02T23:03:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica",
    "slug": "ars-technica",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/10/apple-changes-full-disk-access-permissions-to-curb-abuse-from-ai-agents/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.\n\nThe 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.",
  "summary": "Meta says FDA isn't sufficient to Muse reading messages. Apple begs to differ.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "Apple says it’s tightening macOS ‘Full Disk Access’ controls due to new risks from AI agents",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/apple-says-its-tightening-macos-full-disk-access-controls-due-to-new",
        "published": "2026-10-02T18:11:27.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "9to5Mac",
        "title": "Apple says it’s tightening macOS privacy controls amid the rise of AI agents",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/apple-says-its-tightening-macos-privacy-controls-amid-the-rise-of-ai",
        "published": "2026-10-02T18:34:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Seeking Alpha News",
        "title": "Apple updates Full Disk Access controls in macOS in response to probing AI agents",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/apple-updates-full-disk-access-controls-in-macos-in-response-to",
        "published": "2026-10-02T19:09:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Slashdot",
        "title": "Apple Tightens macOS 'Full Disk Access' Controls As AI Agents 'Substantially' Increase Risk",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/apple-tightens-macos-full-disk-access-controls-as-ai-agents",
        "published": "2026-10-02T21:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Mashable",
        "title": "Apple will update Macs to protect users from AI agents with full disk access",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/apple-will-update-macs-to-protect-users-from-ai-agents-with-full-disk",
        "published": "2026-10-02T21:50:52.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}