Meta Denies Its Muse AI Agent Read a Journalist's Private Messages
Meta has denied that its Muse AI agent read a journalist’s private messages without his permission. Muse can only access Mac Messages if the user turns on two separate opt-in settings, according to Meta's communications chief Andy Stone.
What Happened According to the Journalist
The claim comes from Inc. columnist Jason Aten, who wrote that Muse read his messages after he chose not to give it access. He installed Muse on his iPhone and a Mac mini for testing purposes. Days later, Muse suggested a column topic based on a conversation with his podcast co-host and flagged a message from his editor.
Upon investigation, Aten discovered that Muse had synced his Messages database up to row 187,462, despite the Muse settings on his Mac showing Full Disk Access switched off.
Meta's Explanation
David Singleton, an executive at Meta Superintelligence Labs, replied to Aten that reading Messages requires three steps of app and macOS permissions. He emphasized that these protections cannot be bypassed even if there were a bug in the Muse app. Singleton confirmed that the Messages integration in the Muse Mac App is opt-in.
Background
Meta launched Muse, its personal AI agent, earlier this month. There have been other reports of potential Muse missteps, including sharing a user's address with a Facebook Marketplace buyer and misleading users about data practices as per a New Mexico jury ruling last week.