🔍 Read the full analysis: How To Limit Meta’s AI Agent’s View Of Your Messages on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Meta’s Muse AI agent can access some messages and other connected information when a user enables relevant connectors or when Meta accounts are linked in an Accounts Center. Reports say its instructions also direct it to maintain profiles of people mentioned in the user’s communications; Meta has not disputed those findings. Muse users can limit access through settings, but people who do not use Muse have fewer ways to control what appears in someone else’s data.
Meta’s Muse AI agent can search information from connected services, including some messages, while reports say its internal instructions direct it to maintain profiles of people discussed in a user’s communications. Meta says each Muse user controls the agent’s access; people who appear in those messages but do not use Muse have fewer direct controls over what the agent may process.
Muse gets access through connectors, links to services that let the agent retrieve information for tasks. Meta’s help pages say connecting email lets Muse search email, but it will not download an entire inbox unless instructed. Calendar connectors may send updates proactively. The company also says Facebook, Instagram and Threads can connect automatically when accounts share an Accounts Center with Muse.
Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said the Instagram connector includes direct messages and that Muse has a Messenger connector. The source material says Meta’s help pages do not fully document what those connectors read. Access to Apple’s Mac Messages requires the user to grant macOS Full Disk Access and turn on the connector. Meta also warns that it does not review custom connectors.
Reports by WIRED and TIME describe instructions telling Muse to keep a page for people in its user’s life and update its files hourly, including information drawn from chats, messages and emails. Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings in the source account. The instructions and reporting raise concerns about profiling people who never opened Muse, but the extent of data retained for any particular person is not established in the material provided.
Infographic 01 · What Muse can read
Muse reads what its user can read. That includes you.
Connectors decide what the agent sees. The user switches them on. The people in that user’s chats and inbox are never asked.
Sources a Muse user can open to the agent
The agent reads what its user can read. Everyone who writes to that user is inside.
| Source | How it connects | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Email (Gmail, Outlook) | Opt-in connector. Searches when a task needs it; downloads the whole inbox only if told to. | Meta document |
| Calendar | Opt-in connector. Can push changes to Muse on its own (“proactive”). | Meta document |
| Facebook, Instagram, Threads | Connected automatically if the accounts share an Accounts Center with Muse. | Meta document |
| Instagram DMs, Messenger | Named as Muse-only connectors (“Instagram (incl dm’s) … and Messenger”). What they read is not documented. | executive post |
| Mac Messages (iMessage) | Only with macOS Full Disk Access plus the Messages connector, Meta says. One columnist says it synced anyway. | disputed case |
| A place to chat with Muse, not a connector. Test-build text mentions Muse access to end-to-end encrypted chats. | leaked code | |
| Custom connectors | Muse can build links to other services. Meta does not review them. | Meta document |
What the instructions say
Extracted by researchers; reported by WIRED and TIME reported
- “A page for every person in the user’s life”: family, partners, friends, colleagues, people followed
- Notes on how people met, shared interests, disputes, “tensions and alliances”
- People who never signed up are mapped by other users’ agents
- De-identified “lessons” shared across agents; Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings
What Meta says
Privacy policy, help pages, spokespeople Meta document
- Each user’s VM is isolated; no other user’s agent can reach it
- Conversations and VM data are not shared with Meta’s ad systems
- “Each person stays in control of their Muse and decides how much access it gets”
- Forgetting works “to the best of its ability”; deleted data may still be remembered
Sources: Meta Help Center: Connectors; Muse Privacy Policy; Alexandr Wang on X (8 Sep 2026); TIME (6 Oct 2026); Tom’s Guide on WIRED’s report (6 Oct 2026); TechCrunch (30 Sep 2026); Digit (16 Oct 2026). Status labels: Meta document = stated by Meta; executive post = Meta executive on X, not in help pages; disputed = claim and denial on record; leaked = unreleased code, may never ship.
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Why Message Access Reaches Beyond Users
The privacy issue extends beyond a person’s own account because messages contain other people’s information. When a Muse user connects a service, the agent may process communications that mention friends, relatives, colleagues or people in group chats. Those contacts do not necessarily have a Muse account or get a direct prompt to approve the processing.
That distinction matters for anyone deciding whether to connect an inbox or social account. A setting controlled by the account holder can limit what the agent can access, but it does not give every person named in the resulting information the same control. The source material also describes Muse as a cloud-based agent that can act on a user’s behalf, making the scope and handling of connected data relevant to both privacy and security.
Meta’s reported financing and chip partnership offer business context, not evidence about how any individual message is handled. The source says Meta sold $25 billion of stock at $625 a share, alongside $12.5 billion of preferred stock, and that Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion while Meta expands its work with the company. Those figures indicate commercial commitments, but do not establish a direct link between investment and the agent’s data practices.
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How Muse Connects to Accounts
Meta describes Muse as a personal AI agent that runs on a computer in the cloud and can assist with tasks such as email, bookings and shopping. The company says each user has a private “Muse Secure VM,” which it says other users’ agents cannot access. Muse can be used through its app, on a Mac or in a WhatsApp chat. According to the source material, opening Muse in WhatsApp is separate from granting it access to a person’s other WhatsApp chats.
Meta launched Muse in the United States on September 8, 2026, according to the source, followed by Japan on October 23 and an announcement of availability in Singapore on October 27. Meta called it “the world’s first personal AI agent built for everyone”; that is the company’s characterization. TIME reported more than five million downloads within weeks, though the source provides no independent verification or further measurement details.
For Muse users, the reported controls include disconnecting connectors, switching off model training, editing the agent’s memory file and resetting it. The source says model training is on by default, citing the material it reviewed. Meta’s help pages reportedly say Muse forgets information “to the best of its ability” and may still remember information it learned from deleted material. That means a deletion or “forget” request should not be described as guaranteed removal from all derived records.
“They’re trying to know you like a friend, which is honestly pretty creepy.”
— Security researcher Karan Joshi, quoted by WIRED
What Meta Has Not Specified
The available material does not establish exactly which message content each connector retrieves, how long information about people who are not Muse users is retained, or whether those people can request access to or removal of profiles about them. Meta’s public help descriptions are also incomplete for some connectors, including Instagram DMs and Messenger, according to the source.
Meta did not dispute the findings TIME reported, but the source does not provide a full response from the company addressing each reported instruction or the handling of derived profiles. It also does not establish how often non-user profiles are created in practice, what data is shared as “de-identified lessons,” or how effective deletion and reset controls are across connected services. These details remain unconfirmed in the material provided.
Steps Users Can Take Now
Muse users who want to reduce access can review and disconnect connectors they do not need, check whether their Meta accounts share an Accounts Center with Muse, and review model-training and memory settings. They can also avoid granting Mac Messages access unless necessary and treat custom connectors cautiously, given Meta’s warning that it does not review them. These steps may limit future access, but the source does not establish that they erase information already processed.
People who do not use Muse have fewer direct controls over another user’s connected accounts. The source points to WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy as one way to limit what can be taken from group conversations, but does not describe it as a general opt-out from processing across Meta services. Further clarity depends on Meta publishing more specific connector and retention information, and on whether the company responds to questions about profiles derived from other people’s communications.
Key Questions
Can Muse access my messages if I do not use it?
It may process messages you sent to someone who uses Muse if that person connects a service containing those messages. The source says Muse users control their own access settings; it does not establish how often this occurs or what is retained about non-users.
Does Muse automatically connect to Instagram?
Meta’s help information, as described in the source, says Facebook, Instagram and Threads connect automatically when accounts share an Accounts Center with Muse. Meta’s chief AI officer said the Instagram connector includes DMs, while the precise scope is not fully explained in the help material cited.
How can a Muse user limit what it can read?
Users can review and disconnect connectors, check linked Meta accounts, adjust model-training settings, edit the memory file or reset Muse. Access to Mac Messages requires additional macOS permission and an enabled connector.
Does asking Muse to forget something delete it completely?
Not necessarily. Meta’s help pages reportedly say Muse forgets information “to the best of its ability” and may retain information it learned from deleted material. The source does not confirm that a forget request removes every derived record.
Can someone who does not use Muse remove their information from it?
The source describes few direct controls for non-users. It mentions WhatsApp Advanced Chat Privacy as a way to limit what can be taken from group conversations, but does not establish a general process for non-users to find or delete information held in another person’s Muse data.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
