Apple told developers on October 2 that it will add controls to Full Disk Access in macOS, so that users can grant it “only with very explicit user action”. The setting gives an app access to almost all of a Mac’s files. Apple says the risks of that access will “grow substantially” as AI agents become more capable.
New to this? Read it in simple words
- Apple will make one powerful Mac permission harder to switch on.
- Full Disk Access lets an app read mail, messages and browsing history.
- Apple says AI agents make this access more risky over time.
- Apple has not said when the change comes or how it will look.
- Full Disk Access
- A Mac setting that lets one app read almost every file on the computer.
- AI agent
- An AI program that takes actions on a computer for a person.
- macOS
- The operating system that runs on Apple’s Mac computers.
What Apple announced
Apple posted the news for developers on October 2. It will add “additional controls” so that users can only grant the permission “with very explicit user action”.
“Some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that could put users at risk,” Apple writes. It says the access can expose “files, mail, messages, and even browsing history” without users’ full knowledge.
“As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially,” the post adds.
From Apple’s developer news post of October 2. The new step is planned, not shipped.
What is not known
Apple has not said which version of macOS brings the change, when it arrives, or what the new step will look like. iClarified notes that specific details were not disclosed.
Apple also does not say what happens to apps that already have the permission, and it names no app or developer.
Why AI agents raise the stakes
Desktop agents work by opening files and apps on a user’s behalf. TechCrunch reports that Meta’s Muse desktop agent can turn on Full Disk Access, and it cites an Inc. columnist who said Muse read private messages without permission. Apple does not mention Meta.
9to5Mac notes that the permission was designed for backup apps and largely sidesteps the other privacy prompts in macOS.
The reasons given for the change are Apple’s own. Apple also sells Macs with its own built-in AI features.
Sources
Every fact in this story comes from the sources below. Open them to check our work.
- 1
- 2Research · October 2, 2026Apple says it’s tightening macOS ‘Full Disk Access’ controls due to new risks from AI agents TechCrunch
- 3Research · October 2, 2026Apple says it’s tightening macOS privacy controls amid the rise of AI agents 9to5Mac
- 4Research · October 2, 2026Apple to Require More Explicit Action for Full Disk Access on Mac iClarified
We read Apple’s developer news post and compared TechCrunch, 9to5Mac and iClarified, which agree on the substance and quote the same lines. The Muse examples come from TechCrunch alone, so we credit them to TechCrunch. We left out download figures that only one outlet gives.