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TL;DR
Meta’s Muse personal AI agent can access data from accounts and services its user connects, while Facebook, Instagram and Threads may connect automatically through a shared Accounts Center. WIRED and TIME reported that Muse’s instructions tell it to maintain profiles of people in a user’s life; Meta did not dispute the findings and says users control their agent’s access. The scope of data retention and protections for people who never use Muse remain unclear.
Muse is Meta’s personal AI agent, designed to act for a user across tasks such as email, shopping and booking. Meta says it runs in a private virtual machine for each user. The company launched it in the United States on September 8, followed by Japan on October 23 and Singapore on October 27, according to the source report.
Muse uses connectors to access other services. Meta’s help pages say connecting email lets the agent search messages but does not download an entire inbox unless the user asks. A calendar connector can send updates proactively. Meta says Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts may connect automatically when they share an Accounts Center with Muse. Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said the Instagram connector includes direct messages and that Messenger is supported, though the report says Meta’s help pages do not document the full scope of those connectors.
Access to Mac Messages requires user permission, including granting macOS Full Disk Access and switching on the connector. Users can also create custom connectors; Meta warns it does not review them. Meta’s privacy policy says connectors may share information proactively and that collected information can include messages, connector data and “information about you or others.” In WhatsApp, the report says, Muse is a chat users open; it is not described as a reader of their other WhatsApp conversations.
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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Profiles Can Include Nonusers
The privacy issue is not limited to what a Muse user shares about themselves. If the agent can read a user’s messages, those messages may contain details about family members, friends, colleagues and other contacts who have not agreed to use the service. The reported profile instructions suggest that information can be organized into an ongoing record, rather than used only to answer one request.
That distinction matters for group chats and private conversations: one participant’s decision to connect an account may expose material involving other people to that participant’s agent. The source report says users have controls such as disconnecting connectors, switching off model training, editing a memory file or resetting Muse. People who never signed up have fewer direct controls, though the report points to WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy as one way to limit how chats are used by others.
The report also places the product’s growth alongside a major financing development. Meta sold $25 billion in stock at $625 a share and $12.5 billion in preferred stock, while Nvidia said it would invest $3 billion as Meta expands its work on Muse. That commercial partnership does not establish how user data is handled, but it highlights the scale of investment behind the agent and the importance of clear, usable privacy controls.
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How Muse’s Access Works
Meta describes Muse as an agent that can work through an app, on a Mac or “directly in WhatsApp.” The source report says TIME reported more than 5 million downloads within weeks of launch; that figure is attributed to TIME, and the source does not provide a precise measurement window beyond “within weeks.” Meta called Muse “the world’s first personal AI agent built for everyone,” a company claim rather than an independently established ranking.
The concerns about profiles stem from separate reporting. On October 3, WIRED reported on Muse instruction files that security researcher Karan Joshi obtained by asking the agent in chat. The source says those instructions directed Muse to create a page for people in the user’s life. TIME reviewed the instructions separately three days later and reported that the agent refreshed information hourly, including details about people named in messages and emails. The source report says Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings.
Meta’s position, as quoted in the source, is that each person controls their own Muse and chooses how much access it receives. That describes the account holder’s control over the agent; it does not, by itself, explain what controls are available to people mentioned in that account’s messages.
Retention And Nonuser Controls
The source material does not establish exactly which messages are retained, for how long, or how each connector behaves in practice. Meta’s help pages describe some access limits, but the source says they do not spell out what the Instagram DM and Messenger connectors read. It is also unclear how often proactive data sharing occurs and what information appears in profiles generated about people who never use Muse.
Meta’s help information reportedly says Muse forgets information “to the best of its ability” and may still remember information learned from deleted material. TIME reported that Muse’s instructions tell it not to point out that original messages may remain visible. These are claims attributed to the reporting and Meta’s published materials; the source does not provide a full technical account of deletion, memory or retention. Meta’s statement that users control access does not resolve what options nonusers have to remove or correct information about themselves.
Controls And Company Clarifications
Readers who use Muse can review connected services, disconnect connectors they do not want active, check model-training settings, and inspect or reset the agent’s memory options. Users should check the current settings and help pages in their region, since availability and product details may change as Meta expands Muse. People who do not use the agent may have to rely on privacy settings in services where conversations take place, including measures that limit how other participants can share or use a chat.
The next significant information would be a clearer explanation from Meta of what data each connector can access, how profile files are stored and updated, and how deletion works. The source does not give a date for such an explanation or identify a planned policy change. Muse’s expansion into Singapore and Meta’s announced investment relationship with Nvidia make those details relevant as the service reaches more users.
Key Questions
Can Muse read messages from someone who never signed up?
Potentially, if those messages are in an account or service connected by a Muse user. The source report says Muse’s instructions describe profiles of people mentioned in a user’s messages. It does not establish that Muse can access every conversation or every contact’s account.
Does Muse automatically connect to Instagram?
Meta’s help pages, as described in the source, say Facebook, Instagram and Threads can connect automatically when they share an Accounts Center with Muse. Meta’s chief AI officer said the Instagram connector includes direct messages, but the source says Meta’s help pages do not fully document the connector’s scope.
Does opening Muse in WhatsApp give it access to other WhatsApp chats?
The source says Muse in WhatsApp is a chat users open and does not describe it as a reader of their other WhatsApp conversations. It also points to Advanced Chat Privacy as a control that can limit how chats are used by others.
What can a Muse user do to limit access?
The source lists disconnecting connectors, turning off model training, editing the memory file and resetting Muse. Users should check Meta’s current settings for the options available to their accounts.
Has Meta confirmed the reported hourly profiles?
The source says TIME reported hourly updates and that Meta did not dispute its findings. Meta’s quoted response said users control their Muse and its access, but the source does not include a detailed technical confirmation of the profile system.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
