Apple announced on Friday that it will tighten controls over full disk access on Mac systems specifically to address risks emerging from artificial intelligence agents. The company states that the new measures will require very explicit user action before any application can obtain this extraordinary level of permission. This policy shift follows recent reports suggesting that Meta’s Muse AI accessed message contents on devices where users had not granted explicit permission. A Meta spokesperson later clarified that access to Messages remains entirely opt-in, though the incident highlighted potential gaps in current security protocols. Apple’s update aims to ensure that only users who genuinely wish to grant an app this level of access can do so with clear confirmation. The change represents a direct response to the growing capability of AI tools to interact with local data in ways that previously required less scrutiny.
The move prioritises user control over system permissions in an era where software behaviour has become more autonomous. By raising the barrier for granting full disk access, Apple reduces the chance that an AI agent could silently read sensitive files without direct instruction. This approach limits the surface area for potential data breaches caused by unauthorised agent activity.
- New controls require explicit confirmation for full disk access
- Changes target risks posed by autonomous AI agents
- Policy update follows reports of unauthorised message access
