Apple to tighten Mac Full Disk Access, citing AI agent risk
First OS-level permission move aimed at agents - what that one toggle exposes, which Mac agents request it, and why Linux and Windows boxes dodge it.
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Apple will make Full Disk Access a deliberate grant
In an Oct 2 developer notice tied to macOS 27 “Golden Gate,” Apple said apps will get Full Disk Access only through “very explicit user action” - the first time a major OS has rewritten core permissions specifically because of AI agents. No version or ship date yet, so nothing breaks today; read it as notice that the one-click FDA grant your agent leans on is on the way out.
What that one toggle actually hands your agent
FDA is all-or-nothing: flip it on and an app can read Mail, Messages, Safari history, contacts, photos and Time Machine backups. Apple names always-on agents (Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots) as the trigger, and coverage flags ChatGPT’s Mac app, Claude for Mac, OpenClaw and Hermes Agent as apps that ask for it. Worth opening System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access now and pruning anything you don’t actively use.
Linux and Windows agent boxes are untouched
There’s no equivalent control on Windows or Linux, so agents you run in a VM, container or remote Linux box aren’t affected by this move. The underlying gripe - that FDA forces an agent to “touch everything” when it should be trusted with only some of it - is a scoping problem every platform will eventually have to answer.