Amid the rapid rise in AI agents requesting “Full Disk Access” to your Mac, Apple says it is making changes to macOS to protect user privacy.
While the company hasn’t shared specifics, Apple says users should understand what it means to give an app such “extraordinary” access to their Mac. In a blog post on its Developer website, Apple explains that the Full Disk Access permission in macOS is meant to “allow backup apps to function properly on the Mac.” However, Apple says that “some developers” are using the Full Disk Access setting in macOS in “ways that could put users at risk.”
“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.”
In response, Apple says it 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.”
The company hasn’t shared any additional details about these additional controls and what changes it has planned. Nonetheless, it says that the rise of “increasingly capable and autonomous” AI agents necessitates a greater focus on privacy and security:
“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.”
Apple’s announcement today comes amid the increasing popularity of tools like Meta Muse and OpenAI’s Dots. These are always-on AI agents that request substantial access to your personal data, and we’ve already seen some horror stories about Meta Muse in particular.
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