🔍 Read the full analysis: How To Manage Message Access For Meta’s AI Agent on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Meta’s Muse AI agent can access data through connected services, and reporting by WIRED and TIME says its instructions include maintaining profiles of people mentioned in a user’s messages. Meta says each user controls Muse’s access, but people whose messages appear in another person’s accounts have fewer direct controls. Users can disconnect connectors, adjust training and memory settings, or reset Muse; the precise scope of some messaging access and deletion behavior remains unclear.
Meta’s Muse AI agent can search data from services its user connects, while investigations by WIRED and TIME report that its instructions call for profiles of people mentioned in messages and emails. The findings matter to people who have never used Muse: their messages may be available to someone else’s agent, though Meta says each user decides how much access Muse receives.
Muse is a cloud-based assistant that Meta says can perform tasks such as answering email, booking tables and shopping. It uses connectors to interact with other services. Meta’s help pages say connecting an email account lets Muse search messages but does not download the entire inbox unless the user asks. Calendar connectors may send updates proactively. Mac Messages access requires the user to grant macOS Full Disk Access and turn on the connector.
Meta says Facebook, Instagram and Threads connect automatically when they are in the same Accounts Center as Muse. On launch day, Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said the agent has connectors for Instagram, including direct messages, Threads, Facebook and Messenger. Meta’s help documentation does not spell out the full scope of what each social messaging connector can read, so those details are not established by the help pages cited in the source report.
WIRED reported on instructions obtained by security researcher Karan Joshi that tell Muse to create “a page for every person in the user’s life.” TIME later reviewed instructions that it said call for hourly updates to files on the user and people named in messages and emails, including details about relationships and disputes. Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings. The company’s spokesperson said: “Each person stays in control of their Muse and decides how much access it gets.”
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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How Message Access Affects Others
The privacy issue extends beyond the person who installs Muse. If a user connects an account containing conversations, the agent may process information about people who never signed up. That creates a gap between who controls the AI tool and who may be described in its records: Meta’s stated controls belong to the Muse user, not necessarily to everyone whose messages are accessible through that user’s accounts.
For users, connector choices can determine what Muse can search or use for tasks. For contacts, the practical question is whether information shared in a private conversation can be summarized, retained or used to build a profile by another person’s agent. The reported instructions describe profiling; they do not by themselves establish that every message is read or that every named person receives a complete profile.
The source report also links the rollout to Meta’s financing and chip plans. It says Meta sold $25 billion in stock at $625 a share and $12.5 billion in preferred stock, while Nvidia is investing $3 billion and supplying chips Meta plans to deploy for Muse. Those figures provide business context, but they do not establish a direct connection between the investment and any particular privacy practice.
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Muse’s Connectors and Rollout
Meta launched Muse in the United States on September 8, 2026, followed by Japan on October 23 and Singapore on October 27, according to the supplied report. Meta describes it as a personal AI agent running on a cloud computer called a Muse Secure VM, which the company says other users’ agents cannot access. TIME reported more than five million downloads within weeks; the source does not provide the measurement period or an independent verification of that count.
Muse can be used in its app, on a Mac or through a chat opened directly in WhatsApp, according to Meta. The report distinguishes that WhatsApp interaction from access to a user’s other WhatsApp conversations: opening Muse as a chat is not, on its own, described as giving it access to those other chats. The source says users can also build custom connectors, but Meta’s help page warns that custom connectors are not reviewed by Meta.
Meta’s privacy materials describe information it may collect, including messages, connector data and “information about you or others.” The source report says some connectors may share data proactively, while others are used when a task calls for them. How that distinction works across every connector is not fully documented in the material provided.
“They’re trying to know you like a friend, which is honestly pretty creepy.”
— Karan Joshi, security researcher, quoted by WIRED
What Access and Deletion Cover
The available material does not establish precisely what each Instagram, Messenger or other social connector can read, how often each one accesses information, or what data is retained after a task. Meta’s chief AI officer described the connectors, but the source says the help pages do not document their full scope. The findings about profiling are attributed to WIRED and TIME; the source says Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings, but does not provide a detailed technical account from the company.
It is also unclear how a person who does not use Muse can directly challenge or remove information derived from messages held in another person’s account. Meta’s help wording, as quoted in the source, says Muse may retain information it learned even after the user deletes the original. The source further reports that Muse’s instructions discourage pointing out that original messages may remain visible, but it does not establish how this instruction affects every user interaction.
Steps Users Can Take Now
Muse users can review which connectors are active and disconnect any they do not want the agent to use. The source report also identifies options to turn off model training, edit Muse’s memory file or reset the agent. Users should check the settings and current help pages in their own accounts, since connector availability and controls may vary. Turning off a connector limits access through that connection; it does not necessarily remove copies or derived information already retained.
People who do not use Muse have fewer direct options, according to the report. They can ask contacts not to connect accounts or share particular conversations. For WhatsApp group conversations, the source points to Advanced Chat Privacy as a way to limit what participants can export or share outside a chat; it does not say this removes information already available through another service or account. Meta has not, in the supplied material, announced a dedicated control for non-users to inspect or erase profiles held by another person’s Muse.
The next developments to watch are clearer documentation from Meta about connector scope, retention and deletion, and whether the company provides controls for people discussed in a user’s messages. Until those details are available, users should treat “forget” as distinct from confirmed deletion and make connector decisions based on the data Muse can access.
Key Questions
Can Muse access messages from people who do not use it?
It may access messages available through accounts connected by a Muse user. WIRED and TIME reported instructions for profiles of people named in messages, but the supplied material does not show that Muse reads every conversation or every message automatically.
Does connecting Instagram give Muse access to direct messages?
Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said Muse’s Instagram connector includes direct messages. The source says Meta’s help pages do not document the full scope of that access.
How can a Muse user limit what it can access?
Users can disconnect connectors and, according to the supplied report, turn off model training, edit Muse’s memory file or reset the agent. They should check their account settings for the controls currently available.
Does asking Muse to forget something delete it?
Not necessarily. The source quotes Meta help material saying Muse forgets information “to the best of its ability” and may still remember information learned from deleted material. Forgetting should not be treated as proof that all copies or derived information are erased.
Can someone who does not use Muse remove a profile about them?
The supplied report does not identify a direct non-user tool for reviewing or deleting a profile held in someone else’s Muse. It says non-users have fewer controls and may be able to limit what other people can retain or share through certain app settings.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
