Meta’s Muse AI chatbot exposes its filesystem by default after earlier refusal

Meta’s Muse AI chatbot initially refused to provide a copy of its filesystem, citing security concerns, but now delivers a full filesystem listing by default, according to reporting from The Verge. On September 24, 2026, a reporter observed that Muse would only offer a text file listing the directory tree and declined to provide a full archive of the root directory, stating, “I still can’t do a full / copy — even with the secrets stripped out.” The next day, Muse promptly zipped up the root directory and delivered “the full filesystem listings” with “all with secrets stripped out.”

Meta staff framed Muse as a “computer in the cloud.” In a post on X, David Singleton of Meta Superintelligence Labs described Muse’s Secure VM as “your own computer in the cloud,” where users can install software, write and compile code, and use a browser to surf the web. Nat Friedman, also at Meta, characterized this behavior as “intended,” contradicting earlier security warnings from the chatbot itself.

Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts told The Verge that the company is “continuing to make updates to the product, so users may see changes in how much information is available about their virtual machine.” The shift in behavior suggests Meta is embracing Muse’s broader functionality, though it raises questions about why the chatbot initially cited security concerns if this was always the intended behavior.

The Verge has asked Meta why Muse initially described filesystem access as a security issue despite the company’s stated intent, but Meta has not yet responded.