ChatGPT on Mac: iMessage Access Raises Privacy Concerns

ChatGPT on Mac can now read, search, summarize, draft, and send Apple Messages. This feature requires extensive system-level permissions. To enable this, users must grant Full Disk Access, Contacts access, and Automation permissions. Full Disk Access exposes protected data across your entire Mac, not just your messages. Contacts permission lets ChatGPT resolve names, and Automation permission allows it to operate the Messages app and send texts. ChatGPT also accesses your message history to summarize threads. While OpenAI reportedly defaults to per-send confirmation, this is a setting that can be changed. This capability has the potential to raise significant privacy concerns. For professional users, enabling this feature could expose sensitive client or internal communications, creating risks for which many IT policies are unprepared. While OpenAI states the plugin runs locally, the broad permissions remain. This means users are granting substantial access to their Mac's data.