Apple to Restrict Mac Disk Access Amid “Substantial” Risks From AI Agents
Apple tightens Mac full disk access after AI agent privacy risks and reports of Meta's Muse AI accessing messages without clear consent.
Key Takeaways
- Apple is introducing new limits on Mac Full Disk Access to prevent AI agents from getting broad file permissions without very explicit user approval.
- Full Disk Access can let apps read or write many files on a Mac, which helps tools with file context but creates privacy risks if misused.
- The move follows reports of AI-related risks, including claims that Meta’s Muse AI accessed message content without explicit permission.
- Apple’s new controls focus on making Full Disk Access grants more deliberate, while the message-access issue remains a separate permissions question.
Title: Apple Adds New Mac Full Disk Access Limits After AI Message Risk
Meta description: Apple is adding new limits for Mac full disk access after TechCrunch reported AI risks and Inc's Jason Aten linked Meta's Muse AI to message access concerns.
Tags: Apple, macOS, full disk access, AI agents, privacy
Featured image: Abstract technology style image showing a shield over a file tree, no people, no company logos, no text.
Lead
Apple is adding new limits for Mac full disk access, a change that narrows how AI agents can obtain broad file permissions on the platform.
Background: A High-Privilege Permission
Full disk access is a macOS permission that can let an app read or write files across a user's disk. That capability can help tools that need file context, but it also raises privacy exposure when AI agents receive unusually broad rights.
Development: Apple's Friday Controls
Apple will add new limits for full disk access on Mac in response to risks posed by AI agents, as reported earlier by TechCrunch and carried by The Verge. In an update on Friday, Apple said it is rolling out new controls. The stated aim is to ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action.
Latest: The Message Access Trigger
The change comes weeks after Inc's Jason Aten found that Meta's Muse AI somehow knew the contents of his messages, despite not giving the chatbot explicit permission to access them on iPhone or Mac. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone pushed back, saying access to Messages is entirely opt-in.
Current Stage: Control Tightening
Apple's move is now at the control-tightening stage: the new limits focus on how full disk access is granted, while the message-access episode remains a separate question about app permissions.
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