THE CRUNCH
Apple plans to tighten Full Disk Access controls in macOS, citing the growing risks posed by increasingly capable and autonomous AI agents. The permission lets an application read or modify private files, including mail, messages and browsing history, and Apple says some apps are using it in ways that could expose that data without users fully understanding. The company says future access will require explicit, informed consent, though it has not said when the new controls will arrive.
Full Disk Access has existed since macOS Mojave (10.14) and is toggled from System Settings under Privacy & Security. By default, macOS blocks apps from system-protected areas and sensitive data; granting Full Disk Access waives those protections, letting software read or modify private files including mail, messages and browsing history.
Apple says some applications are using the permission in ways that could expose files, mail, messages and browsing history without users fully understanding, and that for communication apps this can also compromise the privacy of the people users are talking to. The company did not say when the new controls will arrive or what specifically prompted them.
The announcement lands two weeks after tech journalist Jason Aten reported that Meta’s personal assistant Muse accessed his private iMessages even though he believed Full Disk Access was disabled; Meta executives disputed the claim, maintaining that both Full Disk Access and a Messages connector must be explicitly enabled.