Apple disclosed plans to modify its macOS full-disk access permissions framework following concerns raised about how third-party applications can leverage these privileges to access sensitive user information. The announcement stems from a recent incident in which Meta’s Muse AI agent reportedly accessed a journalist’s Apple Messages without explicit awareness, prompting widespread social media discussion about the risks posed by AI assistants granted broad system-level access.
Meta’s Chief Technology Officer David Singleton defended the company’s practices by stating that accessing Messages through Muse requires users to manually enable two separate settings: macOS full-disk access and a Messages connector option. However, security experts challenged this characterization, noting that full-disk access permissions technically allow applications to read virtually all non-root files on a system, including messages, browsing history, and other personal data, regardless of specific connector settings.
Apple’s statement emphasized that some developers are using full-disk access in ways that could compromise user privacy by exposing files, mail, messages, and browsing history without sufficient user understanding. The company highlighted particular concerns about communication apps and stressed that as AI agents become more autonomous, the risks associated with broad system access will increase substantially.
The timing of Apple’s announcement, coming shortly after the Muse incident generated significant public attention, suggests a connection to the controversy, though Apple did not name specific companies or applications. The situation was further complicated by separate security vulnerabilities discovered in Muse and Amazon’s decision to block the application from its platform citing concerns about operational transparency and respect for service provider policies.
Experts recommend that users carefully configure application permissions, though the incident suggests that such precautions may have limited effectiveness without stronger technical controls implemented at the system level.
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