Meta is pushing back against a journalist's allegation that its AI agent, Muse, accessed private messages without consent. Following a report by Inc. columnist Jason Aten, Meta VP of Communications Andy Stone firmly denied the accusations, emphasizing that the company does not believe its product violated user permissions.
Stone clarified on X that the Messages integration in the Muse Mac app is strictly opt-in. He explained that users must actively enable both Full Disk Access and the specific Messages connector for the AI to process any content. "You have to enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector for Muse to be able to read your Messages content," Stone stated.
Despite Meta's denial, public skepticism remains high, fueled by the company's history of mishandling consumer data, which has led to legal battles and regulatory fines. This incident follows the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where a jury recently found Meta liable for misleading users about their data practices.
The AI's success in the market depends on user trust. If more reports emerge regarding privacy breaches—whether true or not—Meta's reputation could suffer. The company is urged to engage directly with the journalist to investigate potential technical errors rather than simply dismissing the claims.
Meta Superintelligence Labs executive David Singleton provided a technical rebuttal on Threads, detailing the rigorous permission process. Singleton explained that granting Muse Full Disk Access requires three distinct steps involving macOS system-level protections. He insisted these measures "can't be circumvented even if the Muse application had a bug."
The process involves manually granting Full Disk Access, which then allows the user to select a permission level (None, Read only, or Read) for the Messages app. If Full Disk Access is disabled, these options are unavailable. Furthermore, the authorization dialog triggers a full app restart, making accidental access unlikely.
However, Aten reported that during the incident, Full Disk Access was off, and the AI falsely claimed it was syncing "device notifications." Singleton refuted this, suggesting the AI was confused and provided an inaccurate explanation. He directed attention to Meta's security architecture documentation and bug bounty program.
This is not an isolated incident. Another user, YouTuber Matt Robb, recently alleged that Muse mishandled a Facebook Marketplace task, inadvertently sharing his home address. Singleton indicated that he is currently investigating this specific claim.
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