OpenAI Launches Apple Messages Integration for ChatGPT

OpenAI has introduced an “Apple Messages” extension for ChatGPT, allowing users to connect their iMessage inbox to the chatbot. The integration supports reading existing conversations, searching message history, composing new messages, and sending them—all within the ChatGPT interface. It is also compatible with Codex and ChatGPT Work, extending its utility to both personal and professional tasks.

How the extension functions in practice

A short promotional video demonstrates the feature: a user asks ChatGPT to suggest follow-up messages for contacts based on conversations received the previous day. Users may also request deletion of specific messages, ask ChatGPT to author and dispatch messages on their behalf, or search for information embedded in past message logs, according to TechCrunch.

Privacy safeguards and local operation

The new capability has prompted privacy-related questions. OpenAI states that ChatGPT does not build a full index of a user’s messages. Instead, the Messages extension operates locally on the user’s device. ChatGPT accesses message content only when explicitly instructed by the user for a specific action. To set up the extension, users must enable Full Disk Access, granting the application permission to read and write files on the device. OpenAI later clarified that the desktop version of ChatGPT stores conversations locally by default, and message content remains on the user’s device—never uploaded to OpenAI’s servers.

User review required before message transmission

If a user chooses to save a conversation to the cloud for any reason, it falls under the same data retention policy applied to all other cloud-saved content. When sending messages via the extension, OpenAI advises users to monitor ChatGPT’s actions closely. The company warns against enabling continuous approval, noting that it “removes your final opportunity to review the message before ChatGPT sends it on your behalf.” By default, the extension requires users to approve both the message content and the recipients before transmission.