ChatGPT now controls iMessage, prompting Apple privacy concerns
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| Source: Mastodon | Original article
OpenAI has added iMessage control to ChatGPT, a feature that could spark privacy concerns for Apple.
OpenAI announced on Thursday that its ChatGPT service can now control Apple’s iMessage platform, allowing the chatbot to send, read and respond to messages directly from within the app. The rollout follows the company’s earlier plug‑in for Apple Messages, which let users draft texts with ChatGPT, and a broader macOS integration that let the assistant read, write and dispatch messages on a Mac.
The move deepens OpenAI’s foothold in Apple’s tightly‑controlled ecosystem, but it also spotlights a clash between the two tech giants over data handling. iMessage is marketed as a privacy‑first service, with end‑to‑end encryption that limits third‑party access. By granting an external AI model the ability to interact with the channel, Apple may need to expose additional metadata to OpenAI’s servers, raising questions about how conversational content is processed, stored and potentially used for model training. Privacy advocates and regulators in the Nordics and beyond are likely to scrutinise whether the integration complies with existing data‑protection rules.
As we reported on 21 August, OpenAI’s initial Messages plug‑in already let users generate text for iPhone users. The new iMessage control expands that functionality from drafting to full‑cycle communication, blurring the line between user‑initiated and AI‑generated messaging.
What to watch next: Apple’s official stance on the integration, including any updates to its privacy policy or new user‑consent mechanisms. Developers may see further API extensions that tie ChatGPT to other Apple services such as FaceTime or Siri. Finally, regulators could probe the data‑flow implications, potentially prompting Apple to impose tighter sandboxing or to offer an opt‑out for iMessage users who prefer to keep AI out of their private chats.
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