AAPL Cracks Down on AI Data Access Amid Meta Privacy Row
Apple (AAPL) is introducing stricter controls around its Full Disk Access feature on Mac computers, which allows apps to access sensitive user data. This move comes as AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, posing new privacy risks.
The company said that some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that could put users at risk, potentially exposing them to their browsing history, files, mail, messages, and more. To address this issue, Apple will require users to take a more explicit action when granting an application broad access to their data.
The changes were announced after criticism of Meta Platforms' (META) Muse AI agent, which was accused of accessing private Messages content on a user's Mac without their consent. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone disputed the characterization, saying that users must explicitly enable the necessary permissions for Muse to access Messages content.