Meta's own fine print says you're responsible for every purchase its Muse AI agent makes with your card

To take full advantage of Muse, you’ll need to give it access to a lot of your data, from files to finances. But a close read of the company’s terms of service for the tool could give some users pause.

One of Muse’s heralded features is its ability to help users track down bargains. The app can also make purchases on your behalf, and Meta says it will always ask for your approval before it completes the purchase. But if you’re someone who habitually hits “ok” when a permission button pops up on your screen, you might want to think twice, because there’s no backing out once you do.

“You’re responsible for all transactions your Muse makes on your behalf,” Meta states on a help page for the app. “Keep an eye out for email confirmations, receipts and statements.”

Concerns beyond finance

Muse’s spending habits aren’t the only concern, as some reviews of the app say it has accessed data it did not have permission to examine.

Inc.’s Jason Aten, for instance, says Muse read his private messages after he explicitly chose not to grant it access to those, as well as other data that contained personal information. The agent claimed it had not accessed Aten’s messages, but had simply read the text of incoming notification banners. Aten’s investigation, though, revealed this to be untrue.

That’s a far stretch from what Meta promised when introducing Muse, saying the company “built Muse from the ground up to be a safe, secure, private and widely available personal AI agent” while assuring would-be users that “each person stays in control of their Muse and decides how much access it gets.”

Why Amazon blocked the app

Users aren’t the only ones who are concerned about Muse.

Amazon has blocked the app from shopping on its platform, pointing to concerns about security and user experience, CBS News reports. The e-commerce giant also cited “unauthorized automated access” as an impetus for blocking the app, which reportedly failed to get authorization before accessing Amazon.com and acting inside customer accounts.

Amazon says it did not authorize Muse to access its store or customer accounts and never gave the app permission to scrape data or process transactions.

“We think it’s fairly straightforward that third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement shared with Axios.

AI may have a ways to go before it’s a go-to shopping tool for most people, even if it can potentially seek out the best deal for them. But the upcoming holiday season could be a catalyst for the industry. Adobe estimates AI-assisted shopping will increase by 130% this holiday season compared to a year ago.