● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 neutral
macOS 27.3 to remove loophole for granting Full Disk Access to AI agents
Key points
- macOS 27.3 will remove a Full Disk Access loophole.
- Apps will no longer be logged in Settings for quick access toggling.
- Users will need more explicit action to grant Full Disk Access.
- Change targets AI agents requesting broad data access.
Upcoming macOS Privacy Changes
Apple previously announced plans to enhance privacy controls in a future macOS update, specifically addressing concerns about AI agents requesting and potentially misusing Full Disk Access. The company indicated that granting such access would require "very explicit user action."
Removal of Full Disk Access Loophole
According to information shared by pdfu on X, macOS 27.3 will eliminate a method developers currently use to streamline Full Disk Access. In current macOS versions, if an app requests a file outside its permissions, the system logs the app and lists it as an option in the Settings app for enabling Full Disk Access. Developers often instruct users to toggle this option.
Starting with macOS 27.3, apps requesting files outside their permission scope will no longer be logged in this manner. Consequently, they will not appear as a quick toggle option in the Settings app for Full Disk Access.
Continued User Action Required
Even with this change, developers can still instruct users to manually drag an app icon to the Settings panel to enable Full Disk Access. This suggests that while the process is less automated, a direct user action is still required. The full scope of "very explicit user action" may evolve as the feature develops.
Potential for Scoped Access
The underlying issue of apps, particularly AI agents, requiring broad Full Disk Access to interact with specific data like iMessage remains. There is a mention of "Private Folders" as a potential future solution, which could allow users to grant more granular, scoped access to specific directories, such as the iMessage database folder. Details on how Private Folders would function are not yet available.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Apple will remove a loophole in macOS 27.3 that allowed developers to simplify the process of granting Full Disk Access to applications. This change means apps will no longer automatically appear in Settings for Full Disk Access after requesting unauthorized files, requiring more explicit user action. The update aims to tighten privacy controls, particularly for AI agents that might misuse broad data access.