Critics call ChatGPT’s new iMessage plugin ‘spyware’

OpenAI launched an Apple ↘ 0.52% Messages plugin for ChatGPT on August 20 that allows the AI to read, search, summarize, draft, and send iMessages, SMS, and RCS conversations on Mac — and critics are already calling it "spyware."forbes+1

The plugin, available in ChatGPT Work and Codex on Apple Silicon Macs, requires Full Disk Access, Contacts access, and Automation permissions to function. Full Disk Access exposes protected data across a Mac well beyond the Messages folder alone, according to Apple's own documentation. OpenAI says messages are only sent after user approval, but a toggle exists to allow automatic sending "without another send approval."afrotech+1

The Consent Problem

The central privacy concern is not what users grant to ChatGPT — it is what happens to everyone else in the conversation. Once enabled, the plugin can pull from years of Messages history synced through iCloud, exposing texts from people who never consented and who may not even use an Apple device or ChatGPT. Neither Apple nor OpenAI notifies the other party.forbes

Privacy researcher Paul Walsh described the plugin as akin to "installing spyware that can be exploited by governments, intelligence agencies, law enforcement, internal threat actors at OpenAI and partners." Developer Steve Moraco called it a "total architecture abandonment and user trust betrayal on Apple's part," noting that iMessage is encrypted end-to-end yet "copies of my messages from years ago on anyone's laptop … can now be fetched directly by ChatGPT without my permission or even knowledge."finance.yahoo+1

What OpenAI Says

OpenAI told TechCrunch that the plugin runs locally on the device, does not fully index messages, cannot run without user permissions, and that messages are not saved to its servers. The company says the tool only pulls content when specifically asked and recommends against disabling per-send confirmation.finance.yahoo+1

Forbes compared the mechanic to Facebook's long-criticized "shadow profiles" — records of people who never signed up for the platform, assembled from contact lists other users voluntarily uploaded. Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that practice in 2018 congressional testimony.forbes

A Familiar Tension

The plugin arrives as Apple is separately suing OpenAI for allegedly stealing confidential products and information — an ironic backdrop given that Apple built its brand for years on the promise that "what happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone." Bloomberg has framed the rollout as a privacy test for that brand.finance.yahoo+1

The feature is currently limited to Mac and is not yet available on iPhones.scrippsnews