Meta's Muse Draws Millions, Raising 124% Bot-Traffic and Privacy Fears
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Oct 1
Meta's Muse Draws Millions, Raising 124% Bot-Traffic and Privacy Fears
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Oct 1
Summary
Millions downloaded Meta's free AI agent Muse within weeks, putting a mass-market tool for unsupervised web tasks into consumers' hands and prompting warnings that online services could become harder to use.
Experts say agents can flood websites, hoard scarce bookings and intensify scalping-style behavior; one analysis found bot traffic already jumped 124% in the year to June 2026.
Meta says Muse asks permission before purchases, follows safety rules and keeps users in control, but critics argue its terms do not guarantee the agent acts in a user's best interests.
Privacy concerns are sharper because Muse can access Gmail, calendars and computers, while user data is used for AI training by default unless people opt out.
Security doubts deepened after Objective-See's Patrick Wardle said he found a critical flaw within 20 minutes of testing; Meta said it fixed the bug immediately and had delayed launch for extra checks.