Apple has just been forced respond There has been a flood of AI agent apps, like Meta’s Muse, that are accessing the private data of Mac users.
According to Apple, the company will soon release additional controls for “Full Disk Access,” which will explicitly ask Mac users if they want to grant third parties access to a specific part of their system. With full disk access, AI agents can complete a wide range of tasks for users, but these users may not understand the cybersecurity risks of agentic AI.
Apple says it is doing this specifically because of the rise of AI agents like Muse, which recently surpassed 5 million downloads, and the risks associated with handing over full access to a user’s personal data.
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When a Mac user downloads a third-party app, some apps require the ability to access specific functionality on their computer. Apple requires that these apps ask the user to access that functionality. For example, a third-party webcam app is forced by Apple to ask the user for permission to access the Mac’s camera and audio devices. The user must grant that access before an app can use that Mac function.
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For example, some apps, like backup apps, require access to the entire Mac system. To cover all these tasks in one fell swoop, from email to messages to the file system, Apple allows apps to request “full disk access.”
However, AI agents that run autonomously are added additional risk Other apps don’t do this when given this type of access. For example, Inc. Columnist Jason Aiton recently discovered Meta’s Muse AI assistant had somehow synced its entire local message database and was using those messages as reference for its actions.
Aton claims he refused to allow the museum to access the messages. Meta claims that if Aten refuses to grant these permissions to Muse then it is impossible for Muse to do so. Apple now wants to make it more clear when an app asks for these permissions and a user allows them.
Apple’s full update is posted below:
“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 bypasses enough of these controls to allow backup apps to work properly on 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 is included – for communication apps, it can also compromise the privacy of the people with whom they are communicating.
Moving forward, we will introduce additional controls to ensure that users who really want to grant this extraordinary level of access to an app can only do so with very clear user action. It is important to address this. As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will increase substantially. We are committed to ensuring that users clearly understand these risks before providing such access, so they can make informed decisions about their data and privacy.”
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