Apple tightens macOS 'Full Disk Access' and says AI agents have substantially increased the risk
Mac apps will soon need 'very explicit user action' to get the setting. The announcement follows a disputed report that Meta's Muse read a columnist's private messages.
Evidence: Independent reports. Security stories run only with a named disclosure or independent reporting behind them.
Apple announced on Friday that it is adding controls to Full Disk Access, a macOS setting that lets an app read files, mail, messages and browsing history. According to The Verge, Apple says apps will soon need "very explicit user action" to get this level of access. Apple says the setting was designed so backup software could work properly, but that AI agents have increased the risks of granting it. "Some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that could put users at risk, exposing everything on their systems…without users' full knowledge and understanding," the company wrote in a blog post. TechCrunch reports that the change came days after Inc. columnist Jason Aten wrote that Meta's Muse agent knew the content of his private messages even though, he said, he had not given it permission. Meta disputed his account. Muse lets users turn on Full Disk Access as an option. TechCrunch also notes an earlier Wired report that a flaw in ChatGPT's Mac app could have let hackers reach sensitive data. The change affects developers of desktop AI agents, which increasingly rely on broad system permissions to read and act on users' personal data. It also affects Mac users, who will face more deliberate steps before granting that access.