Full Disk Access on macOS: Apple Tightens Its Grip on AI Agents
Apple is preparing stricter controls on macOS Full Disk Access for AI agents. Here is what changes with version 27.3, according to a leaker.
Apple is preparing stricter controls on macOS’s Full Disk Access, the permission that artificial intelligence agents ask for in order to read a user’s data. The company explained that apps will be able to obtain it only through an “explicit action” by the user.12 For now, how it will work in practice comes from a leaker, pdfu, who points to macOS 27.3 on X as the first version with the changes. Apple has not published these technical details.1
What Full Disk Access is
According to Apple, Full Disk Access largely bypasses the controls designed to protect private data. It exists so that backup apps can work properly on the Mac.2 Some developers use it in risky ways, Apple writes: files, mail, messages and browsing history are left exposed, without the user being fully aware of it. In communication apps, the privacy of the people on the other end can also be compromised.2 Apple adds that, as AI agents become more capable and autonomous, the risks of this level of access will grow significantly.2
What could change with macOS 27.3
Today, if an app tries to read a protected file, the system denies the request and adds the app to the list in Settings where Full Disk Access can be enabled. At that point, developers often prompt the user to open that section and turn on the switch.1 According to pdfu, starting with macOS 27.3, apps that request files outside their scope will no longer be registered, and so will no longer appear as a quick-enable option.1 It will still be possible to ask the user to drag the app’s icon into the Settings panel, even with the developer switch tied to the change turned on. 9to5Mac notes that this does not yet seem like an “explicit action” in the strict sense, but work is under way.1 The leaker also mentions Private Folders, which could allow limited access to a single folder, for example the iMessage database folder. Details on how they would work are scarce.1
What changes
The changes described would take away a shortcut from developers, but not the reason the permission is requested. According to 9to5Mac, many apps ask for it to access data such as iMessage, so there is no better alternative.1 Until that alternative exists, the 9to5Mac journalist suggests, users will have to keep enabling Full Disk Access and put other data at risk. A permission limited to individual folders, if it arrived, could reduce that need.1
This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.
