🔍 Read the full analysis: Not Using Muse? Understand Meta’s AI Agent And Your Messages on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Meta is expanding Muse, its personal AI agent, while reports describe instructions for keeping regularly updated profiles of people mentioned in users’ messages. Meta says each Muse user controls the agent’s access, but people whose messages are read by someone else’s agent may have fewer ways to limit what it processes. The exact scope of message access and how long derived information persists remain unclear.
Meta announced Muse’s launch in Singapore on October 27, extending the personal AI agent beyond North America and Japan as reporting raised questions about how it handles messages involving people who never signed up. Meta’s own materials describe connectors that can give Muse access to email, calendars and services linked to a user’s accounts; separate reporting says the agent’s instructions include building profiles of people mentioned in messages. Meta says Muse users control what the agent can access, but that control belongs to the account holder, not necessarily to everyone whose messages may be processed.
Muse is a cloud-based assistant that can carry out tasks such as answering email, booking tables and shopping. Meta launched it in the United States on September 8, followed by Japan on October 23 and Singapore on October 27. Meta describes it as a personal agent and says each user receives a private virtual machine, called a Muse Secure VM, that other users’ agents cannot access. TIME reported that Muse had more than 5 million downloads within weeks of launch; the source material does not provide a comparison baseline for that figure.
The agent’s access depends in part on connectors. Meta says connecting an email account lets Muse search it, but does not download the entire inbox unless the user asks. Calendar connectors can send changes to Muse proactively. 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 also supported; Meta’s help pages, as described in the source material, do not spell out the full scope of those messaging connectors.
Reports by WIRED and TIME describe instructions for Muse to maintain a page about each person in the user’s life, including people referenced in chats, messages and emails, and to refresh information hourly. TIME said those profiles could include relationships, shared interests and disputes. Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings, according to the source material. These descriptions concern reported internal instructions; they do not establish that every user’s agent has accessed every connected message or created a profile on every person mentioned.
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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Who Controls Message-Derived Profiles
The issue extends beyond the person who installs Muse because messages are often written by or about other people. If a user connects an account, an agent may be able to process conversations that include family members, colleagues or friends who did not agree to use the service. The reports about profiles make that concern more specific: information about a person could be organized and updated inside another user’s agent.
For Muse users, the immediate practical question is what data they choose to connect and how they manage it. For non-users, the available controls appear more limited. The source material points to options such as WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy, which can limit some sharing of chats, but it does not establish that this blocks all information from reaching another person’s connected accounts or agent.
The commercial stakes also matter. Meta sold $25 billion in stock at $625 a share and issued $12.5 billion in preferred stock, while Nvidia said it would invest $3 billion. Nvidia supplies chips Meta plans to deploy for Muse. Those financing details show the scale of the companies’ commitment, but they do not by themselves establish how Muse’s business will perform or prove that its commercial success depends on any particular data practice.
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How Muse Gets Connected Data
Muse can be used through its app, on a Mac or in a dedicated WhatsApp chat, according to Meta. The source material distinguishes that WhatsApp feature from access to a user’s other WhatsApp chats: Muse is described there as a chat the user opens, not as a reader of all their conversations. On a Mac, access to Apple Messages requires the user to grant macOS Full Disk Access and enable the connector.
Meta’s help information says users can disconnect connectors, turn off model training, edit Muse’s memory file or reset the agent. The source material says model training is on by default. Meta also warns that it does not review custom connectors, which users can build to connect Muse to other services. The privacy policy language cited in the source says Muse may store information about the user “or others,” and describes some connector data as shared proactively.
Questions about memory have also drawn attention. Meta’s help pages reportedly say Muse forgets information “to the best of its ability” and that it may still remember information learned from material a user deleted. TIME reported that Muse’s instructions tell it not to point out that original messages may remain visible. These are distinct issues: removing a source item, deleting a stored file and preventing an agent from retaining derived information may not be the same action.
“They’re trying to know you like a friend, which is honestly pretty creepy.”
— Karan Joshi, security researcher, speaking to WIRED
The Limits of Access and Deletion
The full scope of message access is not documented in the source material. Meta’s executive described Instagram direct-message and Messenger connectors, but the cited help pages do not specify which messages are read, when they are processed, or how much information is retained. The material also does not show how often reported profiles are created in practice or whether every account receives the same instructions.
It remains unclear how long information inferred from a conversation persists after the original message or connector is removed, and what recourse is available to a person who never signed up but appears in another user’s data. Meta’s statement that users control their agents does not answer those questions for people discussed in those users’ messages. Claims about the internal instructions are attributed to WIRED and TIME reporting; the source says Meta did not dispute TIME’s findings, but that is not the same as independently confirming every detail.
Watch for Clearer Privacy Controls
As Muse expands to Singapore and additional markets, users and people whose messages may be connected will need clearer descriptions of what each connector can access and how derived information is handled. The next useful disclosures would include connector-specific scopes, retention periods, deletion behavior and controls for people other than the account holder. The source material does not identify a date for further documentation or a response from Meta addressing each reported instruction.
For now, people using Muse can review enabled connectors, remove access they do not need, check the memory file and training setting, and be cautious about custom connectors. Those steps concern the Muse user’s account; they do not guarantee that information about a non-user is absent from another person’s messages or stored agent data.
Key Questions
Can Muse read messages from people who do not use it?
It may process messages available through a Muse user’s connected accounts, which can include conversations involving non-users. The exact scope of each messaging connector is not fully specified in the source material.
Does Muse automatically connect to Instagram?
Meta’s help information says Facebook, Instagram and Threads can connect automatically when the accounts share an Accounts Center with Muse. Meta’s chief AI officer said the Instagram connector includes direct messages, but the cited help pages do not document the full scope.
Does Muse read all of a connected email inbox?
Meta says connecting email allows Muse to search the account, but it will not download the whole inbox unless the user tells it to. The source also describes some connector data as potentially shared proactively.
Does deleting a message make Muse forget it?
Not necessarily. Meta’s help pages reportedly say Muse may still remember information learned from deleted material and describes forgetting as working “to the best of its ability.” The source does not specify how long derived information may remain.
What can a person who does not use Muse do?
Non-users have fewer direct controls over another person’s agent. The source mentions WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy as one way to limit some sharing, but does not establish that it prevents all processing of information in other connected services.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
