Apple Makes It Tougher for AI Agents to Access Macs

Apple is changing its Mac operating system to make it clearer when artificial intelligence agents seek access to the devices’ data.

In a Friday (Oct. 2) blog post, the company noted that Macs feature a “Full Disk Access” option that lets apps access all the data on a machine, with a user’s consent.

However, 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,” the post said.

“For communication apps, this can also compromise the privacy of the people users are communicating with.”

With that in mind, Apple plans to establish new controls to make sure users who want to allow this “extraordinary level of access” can do so only with very explicit user action.

“As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially,” the blog post added. “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.”

A report on the change by Reuters points out that it comes after Inc magazine technology columnist Jason Aten accused Meta’s Muse AI agent of reading private messages on his Mac, and that he had not enabled Full Disk Access.

According to the report, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone has disputed those claims, saying Muse’s access to Apple’s Messages app is strictly opt-in.

“You have to enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector for Muse to be able to read your Messages content,” Stone wrote on social media platform X . “It can’t read your Messages unless you do this. And it can be revoked at any time.”

In other agentic AI news, PYMNTS wrote last week that the B2B space could be the “first real market” for agentic payments, as the procurement systems built primarily to control humans become instructions for machines.

“Instead of telling an agent simply to buy 500 laptops, a company could authorize it to purchase from approved suppliers, stay below a price threshold, meet delivery requirements and choose among permitted payment options,” that report said. “Autonomous checkout isn’t the goal. Programmable purchasing authority is.”

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