Apple to tighten Mac data access after Meta’s Muse complaints

Key Points

1. Apple will add controls making it clearer when AI agents request full access to Mac data
2. Complaints followed Meta's Muse agent, which users said reached private messages on their machines
3. Apple said autonomous AI agents will substantially raise the risk of blanket device access

The latest:

Apple plans to change its Mac operating system so that requests by AI agents for access to all data on a machine become far more visible, the company said on Friday, according to Reuters. Apple said some developers were already using the Full Disk Access permission in ways that could put users at risk, and promised additional controls requiring explicit user action before access is granted.

Details:

• The change: Apple said it will introduce additional controls so that users who genuinely want to grant an app this level of access can only do so through very explicit action, according to a company post cited by Reuters. Apple did not set a date for the new controls, or name the macOS release carrying them.
• Apple’s reasoning: In the same post, Apple linked the move directly to the rise of AI agents, saying that as these systems become more capable and autonomous, the risks tied to this level of access will grow substantially. Apple framed the goal as ensuring users understand those risks before granting access.
• The technical gap: Reuters noted that on iPhones and iPads no single app can reach data inside another app by default. Macs are more flexible: a Full Disk Access setting lets apps such as cloud backup services read everything on a machine, provided the user grants permission.
• What Muse does: Meta’s Muse is an AI agent capable of carrying out complex tasks such as canceling unused subscriptions or haggling for better prices, according to Reuters. Some users criticized the agent, saying it accessed what they believed to be private messages on their machines.
• The accusation: Inc. magazine technology columnist Jason Aten accused Muse of reading private messages on his Mac, Reuters reported. Aten said he had not enabled Full Disk Access, the permission that would be required for an application to read data stored by other apps on the system.
• Meta’s rebuttal: Meta spokesperson Andy Stone pushed back on X, saying users must enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector before Muse can read Messages content. Stone said the agent cannot read messages otherwise, and that the permission “can be revoked at any time.”
• The two accounts: The columnist’s account and Meta’s response conflict on the central point: whether Muse could reach message content without Full Disk Access being switched on. Reuters reported both positions without resolving which is accurate, and Apple’s post did not name Meta or Muse directly.
• No further comment: Apple declined to comment beyond its published post, Reuters said. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Apple announcement, leaving the company’s only public position the statement its spokesperson posted on X.

Background:

Full Disk Access has existed on macOS for years as a deliberate escape hatch from Apple’s stricter mobile permission model, designed for utilities like backup software that need to see an entire drive. Apple says autonomous agents change the calculation behind that trade-off.

Between the lines:

Apple’s post never names Meta, but the timing and the permission it singles out point at the same feature at the center of the Muse dispute. The deeper issue Apple identifies is structural rather than specific: a permission built for passive backup utilities is now being requested by software that acts on its own. Both the accusation and Meta’s rebuttal agree the agent operates through that door.

What’s next

Watch for the macOS release carrying the new controls and what explicit user action Apple ultimately requires, plus any formal response from Meta on whether Muse’s permission flow changes.