Apple said this week it will add new controls to macOS's Full Disk Access permission, citing the growing risk posed by increasingly capable and autonomous AI agents, according to TechCrunch and MacRumors.
"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," Apple said, according to both outlets. The company will require "very explicit user action" before an app can be granted that level of access.
Full Disk Access originally existed so backup and antivirus software could work properly, MacRumors reported. Apple did not say when the new controls will ship or which macOS version will carry them.
The change follows a report from Inc. columnist Jason Aten that Meta's Muse AI agent appeared to know the contents of his private messages despite his not granting it that permission, and a separate Wired report describing a flaw in ChatGPT's Mac app that could have exposed sensitive data, according to TechCrunch.
"As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially," Apple said. Full Disk Access has quietly sat behind backup tools for years. Now that agents like Meta's Muse and OpenAI's Dots can act on a user's behalf around the clock, any desktop agent asking for that permission is going to hit more friction, and builders shipping one should plan for a narrower, explicit grant instead.