Apple tightens Mac "full disk access" over AI agent risk

Apple's move follows a specific recent episode. Weeks earlier, Inc's Jason Aten found that Meta's Muse AI somehow knew the contents of his messages, despite not giving the chatbot explicit permission to access them on his iPhone or Mac. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone pushed back on the report, saying access to Messages is "entirely opt-in," and that users must "enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector for Muse to be able to read your Messages content." That back-and-forth put the spotlight on how sweeping permissions actually work in practice, and Apple's update speaks directly to that concern.

In its statement, Apple frames the problem as one of developer behavior rather than user consent: some developers, it says, are using Full Disk Access in ways that could expose everything on a system—files, mail, messages, and even browsing history—without users' full knowledge and understanding. Apple also notes the permission "largely sidesteps" the privacy controls users are offered, and exists largely so backup apps can work. By requiring "very explicit user action," Apple appears to be tightening the gap between what a user believes they approved and what an app can actually reach—though whether that produces a real change likely depends on how the requirement is implemented, a detail Apple has not yet disclosed.

The stakes here run in two directions. For Mac users, the value of the change hinges on whether the new prompt is genuinely harder to click past; for developers of backup and utility apps that depend on full disk access, the test is whether the revised flow keeps their tools workable or creates new friction. Because Apple has not said when the update will arrive, that balance remains unsettled for now.