ChatGPT Controls iMessage: Mac Privacy Concerns Emerge

OpenAI has released a new Mac plugin that allows ChatGPT to control Apple's Messages app. This tool can read, search, draft, send, and delete iMessage, SMS, and RCS conversations on a Mac. To install it, users need to grant Full Disk Access in macOS System Settings. This is one of the broadest permissions macOS offers. The plugin also requires access to contact names and automation tools. It can summarize long exchanges, draft replies, and even attach files. For example, it can extract birthdays from old conversations and add them to a calendar. The plugin operates only within ChatGPT Work and Codex, and on Apple silicon Macs. It is not available in the web app or phone apps. What's interesting is that this release comes as Apple and OpenAI are involved in a federal court case, with Apple suing OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft. Apple has historically emphasized message privacy, and this broad access raises new privacy questions.