Apple is changing how macOS handles the Full Disk Access permission because increasingly autonomous AI agents raise new privacy and security risks. Going forward, apps will only be able to receive that sweeping access after users take a clearly deliberate, explicit action to grant it. Apple says some developers have been using Full Disk Access in ways that can expose everything on a machine - files, email, messages, and browsing history - without users fully understanding the implications, and that those risks will grow as AI tools become more capable.
The move follows a recent investigation that found Meta’s Muse AI appeared to read Messages content on an Apple device without obvious permission; Meta contends such access is opt-in and requires both Full Disk Access and a Messages connector. Full Disk Access is a macOS setting intended largely to allow backup and similar apps to operate, and it effectively bypasses many standard privacy controls. Apple has not announced a timeline for the rollout and did not provide immediate additional comment, but the update is explicitly aimed at preventing inadvertent or deceptive granting of system-wide access as AI-driven functionality spreads.
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