Amid the rapid rise in AI agents requesting “Full Disk Access” to your Mac, Apple says it is making changes to macOS to protect user privacy. While the company hasn’t shared specifics, Apple says users should understand what it means to give an app such “extraordinary” access to their Mac.
In a blog post on its Developer website, Apple explains that the Full Disk Access permission in macOS is meant to “allow backup apps to function properly on the Mac.” However, Apple says that “some developers” are using the Full Disk Access setting in macOS in “ways that could put users at risk.”
“We give developers powerful APIs to build incredible capabilities into their apps for Apple products, backed by a set of controls designed to protect users’ private data. Full Disk Access largely sidesteps these controls,” Apple wrote. “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.”
In response, Apple says it will “introduce additional controls to ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action.” The company hasn’t shared additional details about these controls. Nonetheless, it says the rise of “increasingly capable and autonomous” AI agents necessitates a greater focus on privacy and security. Apple’s announcement comes amid the increasing popularity of tools like Meta Muse and OpenAI’s Dots, always-on AI agents that request substantial access to personal data.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing