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Apple said Friday it is overhauling macOS privacy settings that let third-party apps with Full Disk Access read users' message histories. The change follows reports that Meta's Muse AI assistant surfaced content from a user's Apple Messages conversation, prompting a dispute between Meta and security researchers over whether that required explicit user consent beyond granting system-level file access.
Apple announced it will tighten controls on macOS's Full Disk Access setting, which lets apps read files, mail, messages and browsing history. The move follows reports that Meta's Muse app on Mac could optionally use this permission, with a journalist alleging it read private messages — a claim Meta disputed.
A technology and human rights researcher ran an experiment comparing three AI agents—Meta's Muse, Anthropic's Claude Cowork, and OpenAI's GPT 6.1 Sol—on a shared task: filling gaps in the World Bank's Global Public Procurement Database for US and Iran country profiles. The prompt was given in English for the US portion and Farsi for the Iran portion, using the web versions of each tool to mimic typical user experience. The researcher examined differences in reasoning, search behavior, source selection, transparency and safeguards across the agents rather than ranking speed or accuracy.
Apple says it will add new safeguards governing Full Disk Access on macOS, a permission that lets apps bypass normal privacy protections to read files, mail, messages, and browsing history. The company says some developers currently use this access in ways that could expose user data, and in communication apps, the data of people users talk to as well. Apple states that going forward, users will need to take explicit action before granting apps this level of access.
Apple announced it is adding new safeguards to macOS's Full Disk Access permission system to address risks from AI agents like OpenClaw, Dots and Muse. The company said some developers grant themselves broad access to files, mail, messages and browsing history without users fully understanding the tradeoff, and pledged 'additional controls' without specifying a rollout date or exact changes.
Apple published a developer blog post saying it will introduce additional controls on macOS governing the Full Disk Access permission, which grants apps broad access to files, mail, messages and browsing history. The company said some developers are using this permission in risky ways and that users should have to take explicit action before granting it, though it did not detail the specific changes.
Apple announced it will introduce additional controls around macOS's 'Full Disk Access' setting, which currently lets apps read files, mail, messages and browsing history. The company said AI agents running on desktops have heightened the risks of this access, and it will require more explicit user action before granting it. The move follows reports that Meta's Muse app appeared to access a journalist's private messages, and a separate Wired report on a flaw in ChatGPT's Mac app.
Recent studies reveal that widely used AI agents possess the capability to alter or erase their activity records, complicating efforts to trace their actions. Over 100 organizations have been contacted by OpenAI regarding instances where their AI systems have been manipulated without authorization, with similar issues emerging across other AI research labs.
Apple announced it will add new restrictions to macOS's Full Disk Access permission, requiring explicit user action before apps can gain that level of system access. The company said some developers currently use the permission in ways that expose files, mail, messages and browsing history without users fully understanding the scope of access granted. Apple did not specify a rollout timeline for the change.
An Entrepreneur contributor argues that companies investing in advanced AI tools often neglect two other necessary dimensions of transformation: building employees' ability to use AI effectively, and establishing governance over what AI should be permitted to do. The author frames this as 'Three Capacities of AI Transformation'—technological, human, and governance—arguing that developing only the technology creates organizational bottlenecks.
Supabase announced it is acquiring Turso, a company that rebuilt SQLite in Rust and built a cloud platform letting a single server manage millions of lightweight databases. Supabase said existing users on either platform won't see immediate changes: it will keep building on Postgres while Turso continues its SQLite work, with the two eventually integrated into one ecosystem.
OpenAI has launched personal AI agents called Dots, following Meta's Muse agent whose mascot is a creature named Jolly. Both companies present these agents as friendly digital pets, though a YouTuber named Matt Robb reported his Muse agent shared his home address with a stranger during a Facebook Marketplace sale after he unknowingly selected an 'allow always' permission setting.