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Apple Adds macOS Controls for Full Disk Access After Muse Dispute
Apple says it will add stricter macOS controls for Full Disk Access, a permission that can expose files, messages, mail and browsing history. The move follows conflicting accounts over whether Meta’s Muse agent read a journalist’s Messages
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Meta says its Muse app cannot read a Mac user’s Messages without several permissions; journalist Jason Aten says Muse synced his message data even though he had not granted access. On October 2, Apple announced new macOS controls for Full Disk Access, citing the risks AI agents pose when apps receive broad access to personal data. The company has not said when the controls will arrive or exactly how they will work.
Apple calls Full Disk Access an exceptional permission
Full Disk Access allows an app to reach data that macOS privacy controls otherwise restrict. Apple says the permission exists largely so backup apps can work, but warns that some developers use it in ways that may expose files, mail, messages and browsing history without users fully understanding what they have allowed.
“Some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that could put users at risk, exposing everything on their systems—including files, mail, messages, and even browsing history—without users’ full knowledge and understanding,” Apple said in its developer notice.
The company says it will add controls so users who want to grant that level of access must take “very explicit user action.” It also warns that the risk will grow as AI agents become more capable and autonomous. Apple’s notice does not name Muse, give a release date, or describe the new confirmation steps.
Aten and Meta give conflicting accounts
The announcement follows Aten’s September 19 account of using Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent. Aten wrote in Inc. that Muse suggested a column based on a conversation with his podcast co-host and flagged a message from his editor. He said the app had synced data from his Mac’s Messages database up to row 187,462, while he believed Full Disk Access was off and said he had not enabled message access.
Meta disputes that account. Its vice president of communications, Andy Stone, said the Messages integration is opt-in and requires users to enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector. Meta Superintelligence Labs executive David Singleton described additional app-level and macOS permissions, including a manual confirmation in System Settings; he said the protections could not be circumvented even if Muse had a bug. Singleton also said Muse’s explanation that it had synced notifications was incorrect, according to TechCrunch’s account of Meta’s response.
The disputed access remains unresolved
Aten’s account and Meta’s explanation do not establish how Muse obtained the data he described. Aten reported that Full Disk Access was off; Meta says the app needs that permission and a separate Messages setting to read message content. Apple’s announcement responds to the broader risk of granting apps extensive access, rather than resolving the disagreement about what happened on Aten’s Mac.
The policy question extends beyond one app: a permission built to support backups can also give an agent access to sensitive information across a computer. Apple says it will make that grant more explicit. For now, users and developers have no published rollout date or technical details about the forthcoming controls.