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TL;DR
Meta’s Muse AI agent can use connected services, including some Meta accounts, to help complete tasks. Reports say its instructions also direct it to keep hourly updated profiles of people mentioned in a user’s messages; Meta did not dispute the findings and says users control their agent’s access. Users can disconnect connectors, adjust training and memory settings, or reset Muse, but people whose messages are read by someone else’s agent have fewer direct controls.
Meta’s Muse AI agent can access data from services its user connects, while reports say its internal instructions tell it to maintain hourly updated profiles of people named in messages and emails. Meta did not dispute the reporting by WIRED and TIME, and said each user controls how much access Muse receives; the findings matter to people whose communications are handled by someone else’s agent, even if they never signed up for Muse.
Muse is a personal AI agent that operates on a cloud-based computer and can carry out tasks such as answering email, booking tables and shopping. Meta’s help materials say connecting an email account lets Muse search messages but does not download the entire inbox unless the user asks. Calendar connectors can send updates to Muse proactively. Meta also says Facebook, Instagram and Threads connect automatically when they are in the same Accounts Center as Muse.
Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said the agent’s connectors include Instagram direct messages, Facebook, Threads and Messenger. Meta’s help pages do not fully document what those connectors read. A Mac Messages connector requires the user to grant macOS Full Disk Access and turn the connector on. Meta warns that it does not review custom connectors that users create.
WIRED reported on October 3 that Muse’s instructions direct it to create “a page for every person in the user’s life.” TIME reviewed the instructions separately and reported that the agent refreshes profiles hourly using people mentioned in chats, messages and emails, recording details such as shared interests, disputes and relationships. These are findings reported by the publications, not a public description of every action Muse takes in every account.
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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The People in Someone Else’s Inbox
The concern reaches beyond Muse users because messages are written by more than one person. When a user connects an account, information about people in their conversations may become available to the agent. Meta’s privacy policy says Muse can store “information about you or others,” according to the supplied source material. A person who never opened Muse may therefore have personal details represented in another user’s agent records.
That creates a practical difference between controlling an account and controlling information about oneself. The Muse user can adjust connectors and memory settings, but a person on the other side of a conversation may not be able to directly remove what the agent has learned from the user’s copy of that conversation. This matters particularly for private discussions, shared plans and group chats.
The source also links Muse’s growth to Meta’s financing and chip supply. It reports a $25 billion stock sale at $625 a share, $12.5 billion in preferred stock and a $3 billion investment by Nvidia, whose chips Meta plans to use for Muse. Those figures do not establish that financing changes privacy settings, but they show the scale of the commercial commitment behind the service.
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How Muse’s Connectors Work
Meta launched Muse in the United States on September 8, 2026, then expanded to Japan on October 23 and announced Singapore on October 27. Meta describes it as a personal agent with a private virtual computer, called a Muse Secure VM, that it says cannot be reached by another user’s agent. Muse can be used through its app, on a Mac or in a WhatsApp chat. The supplied material says the WhatsApp experience is a chat users open, not an agent reading their other WhatsApp conversations.
Connectors determine which external services Muse can use. Meta’s descriptions distinguish between accounts users deliberately link, such as email, and some Meta accounts that may connect automatically through Accounts Center. The source says model training is on by default and lists disconnecting connectors, changing that training setting, editing the memory file and resetting Muse among the controls available to users. Meta’s help language cautions that asking Muse to forget information does not necessarily erase what it has already learned.
“They’re trying to know you like a friend, which is honestly pretty creepy.”
— Security researcher Karan Joshi, quoted by WIRED
What the Reports Do Not Resolve
Meta did not dispute the reported instructions, according to the source material, but the available information does not establish how consistently the hourly profile updates occur, what information is retained in each case, or how long profiles remain stored. It is also unclear how the system handles every kind of message, whether all connectors have the same access, and what a non-user can request about information derived from their communications.
Meta’s claim that each user controls their own Muse does not answer those questions for other people mentioned in an account. The source describes “Forget” as an imperfect control: Meta’s help material says Muse may still remember information it learned after a user deletes it, and says it forgets “to the best of its ability.” The precise deletion and retention behavior was not fully detailed in the material provided.
Settings Users Can Check Now
Muse users can review connected services and disconnect any they do not want the agent to access. They can also check the model-training setting, review or edit Muse’s memory file, and reset the agent. Because Meta accounts may connect through a shared Accounts Center, users should check those links rather than assuming each connector was added separately. Custom connectors deserve particular care because Meta says it does not review them.
People who do not use Muse have fewer direct controls over what another person’s agent can learn from shared communications. The source points to WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy as one way to limit what sits in other people’s archives, but does not describe a universal opt-out that removes information from another user’s Muse. Meta’s next clarification would need to address retention, deletion and non-user requests; no such timetable is given in the source material.
Key Questions
Can Muse read every message in a connected email account?
Meta’s help material says connecting email lets Muse search it, but the agent will not download the whole inbox unless the user asks. The exact access can depend on the connector and task.
Does Muse connect to Instagram automatically?
The supplied source says Facebook, Instagram and Threads connect automatically when they share an Accounts Center with Muse. Meta’s chief AI officer also said the Instagram connector includes direct messages, though the help pages cited do not fully document its scope.
Can someone who does not use Muse stop it from processing their messages?
The source describes no universal control for non-users over another person’s Muse. The Muse user can disconnect services or limit access; the source also mentions WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy as a way to reduce what remains in other people’s archives.
Does asking Muse to forget something delete it completely?
Not necessarily. Meta’s help language says Muse forgets information “to the best of its ability” and may still remember information learned from deleted material. The supplied information does not give a complete account of retention or deletion timelines.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
