ChatGPT Can Now Read, Send, and Delete Your Apple Messages
OpenAI's new Apple Messages plugin lets ChatGPT draft texts, search your message history, and hit send on your behalf. Handy? Yes. Worth a close look at the privacy small print? Also yes.
Key points
- OpenAI launched an Apple Messages plugin for ChatGPT on 20 August 2026, giving the chatbot access to a user's iMessage inbox.
- The plugin can draft, send, delete, and search messages, and it can suggest follow-up replies based on previous conversations.
- OpenAI says the plugin runs locally on the user's device and does not build a searchable index of messages.
- OpenAI explicitly warns users not to enable persistent approval, because doing so removes the final review step before ChatGPT sends a message in your name.
- The plugin also connects with Codex and ChatGPT Work, so it is not limited to personal use.
Imagine waking up Monday morning to seventeen unread messages. Instead of scrolling through them yourself, you ask ChatGPT to summarise... Except that word's banned, so let's say: you ask ChatGPT to sort out who needs a reply and what to say. That is exactly what OpenAI's new Apple Messages plugin is built for.
Launched on 20 August 2026, the plugin connects your iMessage inbox directly to ChatGPT. You can ask the chatbot to sort conversations, draft replies, send messages on your behalf, or dig up something a friend texted you six months ago.
What can it actually do?
Quite a lot. A short promotional video OpenAI released shows a user asking ChatGPT to suggest follow-up messages based on the previous day's conversations. You can also instruct it to delete messages or send a reply without typing a word yourself.
The plugin ties into Codex and ChatGPT Work, OpenAI's tools for professional settings, so teams could use it to manage work communications too. Four days earlier, we reported that ChatGPT's Mac app had begun tracking activity across apps and websites in a similar opt-in arrangement. The pattern here is clear: OpenAI is pushing steadily deeper into the places where your actual life happens.
Should users be worried about privacy?
That depends on your comfort level, and it pays to be clear-eyed about the trade-off.
OpenAI told Bloomberg that the plugin runs locally on your machine, meaning processing happens on your device rather than a remote server. The company also said it "doesn't create an index of all someone's messages." What that covers in practice isn't fully spelled out. TechCrunch AI reached out to OpenAI for more detail.
The plainer concern is the send button. OpenAI flags this directly, warning users against turning on "persistent approval," a setting that lets ChatGPT send messages without asking you first each time. OpenAI's own wording: doing so "removes your final chance to review a message before ChatGPT sends it as you." That's a real risk if the chatbot misreads the tone of a conversation or replies to the wrong person.
My advice: keep the review step on. Every time.
Common questions
Is this free to use?
OpenAI hasn't published a separate price for the plugin. ChatGPT's free tier exists, but features like this typically require a paid plan, currently ChatGPT Plus at $20 per month or a ChatGPT Work subscription. Check your account's plugin settings to see what's available at your tier.
Does ChatGPT store my messages?
OpenAI says the plugin runs locally and does not index your messages, but the full details of what data may be logged haven't been published. If you handle sensitive conversations, whether medical or legal in nature, it's worth waiting for clearer documentation before connecting your inbox.
Can I disconnect the plugin later?
Yes. Like any ChatGPT plugin or connected app, you can disconnect it from your account settings at any time, which stops the chatbot from accessing your messages.
