Meta’s Muse is at the centre of a privacy dispute after a technology journalist said the AI agent referenced content from a private Messages conversation he did not remember authorising it to access. Meta disputes that Muse accessed Messages without permission, saying the feature requires users to enable the relevant integration and macOS permissions.
Meanwhile, Apple has announced additional controls for Full Disk Access on macOS, warning that some developers are using the permission in ways users may not fully understand. The company did not name Meta or Muse, but said the risks associated with such broad access will increase as AI agents become more capable and autonomous.
The Meta Muse Incident Explained
Inc. columnist Jason Aten said he had not enabled Full Disk Access on his Mac when Muse surfaced information from his private Messages. When he asked the agent how it had obtained the information, Muse said it was using content from device notifications rather than reading his message history directly.
Meta, on the other hand, rejects that explanation. The company says Muse can only read Messages content when a user has both granted Full Disk Access through macOS and enabled the Messages connector inside Muse. Meta also said the agent’s explanation about syncing notifications was incorrect.
The disagreement leaves a basic question over how the information reached Muse, but neither account establishes that the agent bypassed macOS permissions. At the centre of the disagreement is Full Disk Access, the same macOS permission Apple now plans to place behind additional controls.
What Is Apple Changing About Full Disk Access?
In its developer announcement, Apple said, “Going forward, we will introduce additional controls 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.”
Apple’s announcement focuses on how Full Disk Access is granted and does not describe any changes to what the permission can reach once approved. The company says Full Disk Access largely sidesteps its usual privacy controls so apps like backup software can function properly.
However, that level of access can expose files, Mail, Messages, browsing history, and other data on the system. Apple wants users to clearly understand those risks before granting the permission so they can make an informed decision about their data and privacy.
Broad Access Can Affect Other People’s Privacy
Apple also warns that Full Disk Access can affect the privacy of people beyond the Mac owner, particularly when communication apps are involved. Messages, emails, shared documents, and other local data rarely contain information about only one person.
A user may be comfortable giving an app broad access to their own Mac, but that same permission can expose conversations, attachments, contact details, and other information involving people who never made that choice themselves.
With AI agents, the concern becomes harder to treat as a simple permissions issue. An agent may be able to search across that information, connect details from different sources, and use what it finds while completing a task. So the privacy decision can extend beyond the person clicking the permission prompt to others whose information is stored on the device.
Details of Apple’s New Controls Are Still to Come
Apple has not yet said when the additional Full Disk Access controls will arrive or shown how the new approval process will work. Its announcement confirms only that granting the permission will require more explicit user action. The company has also not explained how existing Full Disk Access approvals will be treated once the new controls are introduced.
Until Apple shares more information, the exact changes users will see in macOS, and how much the new approval process will differ from the current one, remain unclear. The latest dispute is not the first privacy issue to involve Meta’s Muse name.
In July, Meta withdrew its separate Muse Image tool days after launch following criticism over its automatic connection to Instagram accounts. Users raised concerns that public images from their profiles could be referenced by the tool without them knowingly opting in, prompting Meta to acknowledge that it had “missed the mark.”
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