Apple tightens macOS 'Full Disk Access' controls over AI risks

Days after a journalist said Meta’s Muse app on Mac had read his private messages — a claim Meta disputed — Apple announced that it is introducing additional controls around a macOS setting called “Full Disk Access.” The feature was originally designed to let backups function properly, but Apple said in a new blog post aimed at developers that AI agents have significantly increased the risks associated with that level of access.

The announcement follows a report from Inc. columnist Jason Aten, who wrote that Muse knew the content of his private messages even though he said he had never given the AI agent permission to see them. Aten’s report raised broader questions about the level of security and trust users place in desktop-based AI tools, which can be given the ability to control things on a person’s computer and read that person’s files and messages. Apple’s decision to tighten the Mac feature also follows a separate report from Wired, which found that a flaw in ChatGPT’s Mac app could have allowed hackers to access sensitive data on a user’s machine.

AI agents that run on the desktop can be granted far greater access to a user’s files, messages, and other personal content once macOS settings are adjusted to allow it. In Muse’s case, the app optionally lets users enable Full Disk Access — a setting Apple says gives an app permission to read a Mac’s files, mail, messages, and even browsing history. Apple said some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that could put users at risk, exposing everything on their systems to an app without users having full knowledge or understanding of what they agreed to.

Going forward, Apple said it will introduce new controls meant to ensure that only users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can do so, and only through a very explicit action on their part. “Addressing this is critical. As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially,” Apple wrote, adding that it is committed to making sure users clearly understand those risks before granting such access, so they can make informed decisions about their own data and privacy. Apple did not respond to TechCrunch’s inquiry about the feature change.

Why it matters

Apple’s move suggests platform owners, not just regulators, could end up setting the practical limits on how much autonomy desktop AI agents are allowed over a user’s personal data.