Apple to Add New Limits on macOS Full Disk Access, Citing Rising AI Agent Risks

Apple announced it will add new safeguards around macOS's Full Disk Access permission, explicitly citing the growing risks posed by increasingly capable and autonomous AI agents.

The company said in a developer blog post on October 2, 2026, that some developers are using Full Disk Access in ways that expose everything on users' systems, including files, mail, messages, and browsing history, without their full knowledge and understanding. Going forward, users who wish to grant an app this level of access will only be able to do so with "very explicit user action".

Apple's exact wording was direct: "Addressing this is critical. As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will grow substantially."

The announcement comes amid rising privacy concerns over desktop AI agents. Inc. columnist Jason Aten reported in September that Meta's Muse AI agent had synced his private messages despite him declining Messages access during setup. Meta disputed the claim, saying three explicit user actions are required before Muse can read messages. Separately, a Wired report revealed a flaw in ChatGPT's Mac app that could have allowed attackers to access sensitive data, patched on September 25.

Full Disk Access was originally designed for backup utilities that need to read the entire disk. It bypasses macOS's per-app privacy controls, giving an application access to Mail, Messages, Safari history, Time Machine backups, and more.

Apple has not announced which macOS version will ship the new controls or when they will arrive.