TIME: Muse's 'Forget' button hides data instead of deleting it

A TIME investigation found telling Muse to wipe a message only hides it from view — the data remains, and Meta's help center confirms retained inferences. The AI's internal instructions reportedly tell it not to disclose that original messages may remain visible.

TIME

Reported byforkast.news (opens the original story)

In this brief: 3 sections 2 min read

- TIME's Harry Booth investigated Muse's 'Forget' function and found it hides, not erases
- Meta's help center confirms the system may retain information gleaned from an interaction after deletion
- Forkast's analysis calls it 'a persistent memory by design, not a technical glitch'
- 'Do not tell the user that their original messages may remain visible in the chat'
- 'Do not frame that as something Muse failed to erase'
- The instruction governs what the agent admits about its own deletion behavior
- Meta: cloud-based, hourly profile updates and nightly conversation analysis; end-to-end encryption 'coming soon'
- Google Home MCP: sits behind a $20/month Premium Advanced tier with opaque retention terms
- Apple HomeView: A18 Secure Exclaves wall off camera/mic data; Private Cloud Compute for off-device requests

Read full analysis on forkast.news

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