Meta's Muse hits 900,000 downloads but nags for your data

Meta built Muse on top of its existing platforms, cross-promoting the app on Instagram and making it available through WhatsApp and Messenger. The strategy mirrors how Meta has launched other products, and the early download figure suggests it worked. Meta spokesperson Emil Vazquez told WIRED that Muse is "the first personal AI agent built for everyone, with built-in protections and user controls" and called suggestions otherwise "ludicrous."

The tension the article describes is between convenience and data. Muse impressed in testing by browsing the web, ordering from a bakery, and finding used couches on Facebook Marketplace. Yet every interaction also nudged the reviewer to connect more sources — a savings tracker linked to real bank balances, inbox scanning, passport and license expiration dates. Privacy advocates quoted in the piece, including Calli Schroeder of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Rory Mir of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, see the opt-out default for AI training as a red flag tied to Meta's history.

The outcome likely hinges on whether Meta ships the "confidential" virtual machine it has promised for later this year, and on whether users accept data collection as the price of an agent that does chores. For consumers weighing whether to hand an AI assistant their inbox and bank login, the trade-off the reviewer describes — genuine capability paired with persistent data requests — is the one to watch.