September 30, 2026
Muse pitched an article based on private messages: journalist says he never granted access
Meta disputes the allegation about Muse and insists the agent needs explicit user permission to read Messages.
The AI agent Muse suggested an article to journalist Jason Aten based on his private messages. Aten says he denied the app access to Messages.
Private messages became source material. In a Sep 19 column, Aten described how Muse used a conversation with Stephen Robles about the iPhone and mentioned an editor's message about a deadline. The journalist installed the app on an iPhone and a Mac mini. When he checked the Mac, Full Disk Access was turned off.
Meta disputes the access claim. On Sep 30, the company rejected the claim that Muse had read messages without permission. According to David Singleton's response, cited in a Sep 21 analysis, connecting Messages requires consent in three places:
- In the macOS system dialog. - In the Full Disk Access setting. - In the Messages connection within Muse.
Muse initially explained that it had accessed the messages by reading notifications. Meta later clarified that the agent syncs Messages and apologized for the incorrect explanation.
The Mac app is available on Muse's official download page via Download for macOS. The service is free up to a usage limit, after which users can wait for the limit to reset or subscribe.
Meta promised to improve Muse's answers about how it works.
