Apple is planning to change its Mac operating system, and the reason are AI Agents. The company wants to make it more clear to users when AI agents ask to access all of the data on their Macs. The announcement comes after some users have criticized Meta’s Muse, an AI agent for accessing their private messages. While on Apple’s iPhones and iPads, no single app can access data inside another app by default, company’s Macs are more flexible. Apple Macs come with a ‘Full Disk Access’ option that allows apps such as cloud backup services to access all the data on a machine, with a user’s permission.In an update posted on its developer website, Apple said that some developers were using the Full Disk Access feature in ways that could put users at risk. “Going forward, we will introduce additional controls to ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action,” Apple wrote.“As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially. We are committed to ensuring users clearly understand these risks before granting such access, so they can make informed decisions about their own data and privacy.”Apple’s announcement comes after a technology columnist in Inc magazine accused Meta’s Muse of reading private messages on his Mac. “In fact, I remember explicitly choosing not to let it have access to my messages, calendar, and other personal information,” he wrote. He claimed that he had not enabled Full Disk Access and further added that when he asked Muse to explain how this occurred, the AI said that it was syncing his “device notifications.” Similarly, a YouTuber named Matt Robb recently said that Muse mishandled a task in which he was selling things on Facebook Marketplace, leading to his address being shared.Meta spokesperson Andy Stone disputed the claims saying that Muse’s access to Apple’s Messages app is strictly opt-in. “You have to enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector for Muse to be able to read your Messages content,” Stone wrote on social media platform X, opens new tab. “It can’t read your Messages unless you do this. And it can be revoked at any time.”
Apple’s complete statement on updates to Full Disk Access in macOS
“We give developers powerful APIs to build incredible capabilities into their apps for Apple products, backed by a set of controls designed to protect users’ private data. Full Disk Access largely sidesteps these controls in order to allow backup apps to function properly on the Mac. Some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that could put users at risk, exposing everything on their systems — including files, mail, messages, and even browsing history — without users’ full knowledge and understanding. For communication apps, this can also compromise the privacy of the people users are communicating with.”“Going forward, we will introduce additional controls to ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action. Addressing this is critical. As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially. We are committed to ensuring users clearly understand these risks before granting such access, so they can make informed decisions about their own data and privacy.“
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