Apple to Tighten macOS Full Disk Access as AI Agents Raise Privacy Concerns

Apple has announced plans to tighten controls around Full Disk Access (FDA), a macOS setting that lets an application reach almost everything on a computer. Apple warned that some developers are using it in ways that could put users at risk, exposing files, mail, messages and browsing history without users fully understanding what they have agreed to. For communication apps, it said this can also compromise the privacy of the people users are talking to.

Full Disk Access, found under Privacy & Security in Settings, was introduced in macOS Mojave. Once enabled for an app, it lets the program bypass certain protections and read and write files that apps are normally blocked from touching. It is genuinely needed by tools such as security software and backup programs. Apple says it will update the setting so this access is granted only through an explicit user action, though it has not said when the changes will arrive.

Apple noted that as AI agents become more capable and autonomous, the risks of this level of access will grow substantially. It did not name a product, but the move appears to follow a report that Meta's Muse agent accessed a journalist's private iMessages after being granted Full Disk Access. Meta has since clarified that Muse needs both Full Disk Access and a Messages connector setting enabled to read private messages.