Meta is already at the center of your online social life. Now, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp wants a permanent spot on your desk. But Mark Zuckerberg’s latest products are triggering familiar red flags. Meta officially brands Muse AI as an 18+ productivity assistant. In reality, it looks more like a customizable toy. That cuddly, disarming design, paired with always-on microphones and ambient recording, is raising eyebrows. AI experts and children’s digital safety campaigners speaking to TechRadar are warning that Muse AI and its upcoming Tamagotchi-style keychain companion, Muse Charm , create severe risks for children and teenagers. Following an initial rollout across the US and Canada in September, Meta’s new AI agent has begun to stretch its presence across Asia, landing in Japan , Singapore , and, soon, India . Now, despite the tech giant having yet to confirm a release date, reports suggest the company is eyeing Europe, with The Times revealing on Monday that the UK is first in line. As Muse edges closer to a global launch, is Meta’s new gadget setting the stage for the next youth privacy disaster? And are we ready to cope with the aftermath? Meta Muse: the cuteness trap
(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) Already counting over 1. 8 million daily users across the US and Canada, Muse is an AI agent that can carry out tasks on behalf of its users, like shopping online, booking vacations, or buying groceries. Muse Charm brings the AI agent into physical reality. The two-inch wearable hardware device reportedly has an OLED touchscreen, front and rear cameras, microphones, speakers, 5G connectivity, and USB-C charging, allowing users to talk to their Muse without needing to open their smartphone. At the visual center of the device is Jolly, a pink-cheeked, Labubu-style animated avatar that users can fully personalize — from its name, appearance, and outfits to its voice — transforming invisible software into a persistent, physical companion. While Mark Zuckerberg frames Jolly as a “fun, completely customizable character,” child safety advocates and behavioral researchers warn that this aesthetic functions as a psychological Trojan horse. Speaking to Fast Company , cuteness researcher Joshua Paul Dale notes that cute and child-like designs stimulate pleasure centers before users can evaluate risks, creating an instinctive urge to keep the device close. Moving beyond screen-based interactions, a wearable charm could then tap into innate social emotions, making conversations with ambient software feel as spontaneous and natural as speaking to a person standing beside you. That’s the warning coming from children’s digital safety experts at the Canadian group The White Hatter , who note that such an always-on AI friend could fundamentally alter human attachment to the machine. Put simply, critics say that by leveraging nostalgia for Tamagotchis and popular designer toys, Meta is making a product capable of invasive surveillance feel harmless. Is the 18+ restriction a myth? AI safety specialist Kavya Pearlman — a former risk advisor during Meta’s Cambridge Analytica scandal — describes the toy-like aesthetic as a "deliberate attempt" to attract younger demographics. “This company has a lot of information that it knows will work towards gaining access to certain age groups,” she said. Meta, however, has so far rejected claims that Muse is directly targeting children. "This is a story in search of a story,” Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts told WIRED . Roberts insists the avatar customization simply brings users joy, while pointing out that the company requires everyone using the Muse app to provide their date of birth. When approached by TechRadar, a Meta spokesperson also explained that age checks will include analyzing links between users’ Muse accounts and their Facebook or Instagram accounts. In the absence of a clear signal that they’re over 18, a credit card verification will be required to keep using the service. However, child safety advocates speaking to TechRadar dismiss these safeguards as unenforceable, pointing out that app-level age gates will not deter young people desperate to use a viral, pocket-sized companion. Not only does AI safety specialist Pearlman agree, but she also warns that the most critical impact on kids is what could happen in the long term. “As a child grows up, they experience immense addiction without understanding why they make certain decisions,” she told TechRadar, warning that, “by the time they turn 18, the agent presents purchases as a friend, completing a complete loss of agency.” (Image credit: Future) NEW : Leave No Trace — A weekly newsletter on digital privacy and online surveillance. Leave No Trace investigates the companies and governments putting our digital freedom at risk — and the people fighting back. 📩 Subscribe now to get every edition delivered to your inbox every Friday, launching this September. Meta’s track record on privacy
Meta promises it has built a private and secure experience — each Muse agent runs on its own dedicated virtual machine called Muse Secure VM, with encryption set to be added soon. Yet, the company’s track record doesn’t reassure critics. Online safety and privacy expert Paul Walsh writes : “Meta is asking people to give a company with a documented history of abusing personal data unprecedented access to their private lives, while promising that this time their privacy will be protected.” As Walsh also notes, Muse means that Meta will now be able to access some personal data that its social platforms could not previously collect directly. Unlike standard social media tracking, the AI agent can read private correspondence like personal emails, access connected financial accounts, and autonomously execute transactions. This level of unprecedented access reportedly led to tech blogger and YouTuber Matt Rob having his home address leaked to a stranger on Facebook Marketplace by his Muse. My technical analysis of Meta’s Muse explains what Meta says it does, what it can actually do, and how it can be used to spy on, manipulate, and harm people. Meta describes Muse as a secure, private personal AI assistant that learns your preferences, connects to your apps and accounts, and autonomously handles everyday tasks, including emails, bookings, purchases and managing schedules, with your permission. How I describe MuseMuse is a commercial surveillance agent that can access private communications, financial accounts and personal relationships, build detailed behavioural profiles and analyse how to influence people, including those who’ve never used it. Sound familiar? Cambridge Analytica. Meta launched Muse to millions, giving it access to information its social networks couldn’t previously collect directly. Muse can read private messages, access accounts, execute transactions and communicate with others without approval for every action. It can continuously profile people who never consented…
