Muse (Meta) Alternatives in 2026: Who Holds Your Agent's Data

Which Muse alternative fits comes down to the part of the deal you want to change. Siri AI keeps much of the work on your Apple device. OpenClaw runs on a machine you control. ChatGPT dots and Gemini Spark offer the same always-on cloud idea from other companies, at a price. Merlin stays on your Mac desk, handling work around email, meetings and people.

An agent like Muse only earns its keep once it can read your mail and use your accounts, so choosing one is mostly a question of who you're comfortable giving that to. Below: what Muse does well, what Meta's own pages say you're agreeing to, the settings worth changing if you'd rather stay, and five other places to take the work.

What Muse does well

Muse is Meta's personal AI agent, launched in September 2026, and it carries out tasks rather than only answering questions. Meta's announcement lists sending email, booking travel and filling out forms, and you talk to it in the Muse app or in WhatsApp. The Muse site also lists a Mac app, plus a persistent Linux computer in the cloud with a full browser for each user.

That cloud computer is the main idea. Meta's design notes describe Muse working in the background after you close the app, writing code to build its own tools, keeping memory you can read and edit, and tracking plans in a Goals tab. You can turn its unprompted messages down or off.

Meta also spells out its safety design in detail. Its security post describes Sentinel, a separate agent that alone approves connector actions and outside network access, and purchases that always stop for a human approval and use single-use card numbers tied to one merchant and amount. Muse also has a business side: Muse for Small Business connects to QuickBooks, Shopify, Stripe and Klaviyo.

Then there's the price. Meta's subscription page offers a free version with a usage cap, Power at $20 a month and Maximum at $100 a month. Of the options on this page, no other combines a free tier, phone apps, WhatsApp and a cloud computer someone else runs. If you're in a supported country and comfortable with Meta holding this data, staying is a reasonable call.

What Meta's own pages say you're agreeing to

The usual reason to look past Muse is trust in Meta rather than a missing feature, and Meta's documents are fairly direct about the terms. These are the lines worth reading before you connect an inbox.

• AI training starts switched on. Meta's privacy help page says the setting that lets Muse interactions improve its models is on when you first use Muse. You can turn it off under Data controls, the change covers past interactions, and certain identifiers such as names and phone numbers are removed while it's on.
• Meta can still reach your data for now. Meta's security post says staff access is limited by operating policy rather than a technical barrier, and that this doesn't stop Meta reaching data when it's needed to support, secure or run the service. A Muse Confidential VM, meant to block that access cryptographically, is planned but not out yet.
• Ads are separated, with an exception. The same post says conversations and data on your cloud computer don't go to Meta's ad systems, but that Muse's browsing and purchases look like your own activity and may indirectly influence the ads you see.
• Meta accounts join automatically. Meta's connector guide says Facebook, Instagram and Threads connect on their own if they share an Accounts Centre with Muse. Disconnecting a service stops the exchange, though what Muse already used can stay in its memory and history.
• The risk of mistakes sits with you. The Muse terms make you responsible for what Muse does on your general guidance, including transactions, and place the risk of financial loss on you. Meta's security post also calls prompt injection, where a web page or email tricks an agent, an open problem across the industry.
• Location and age. Meta's small business page lists the US and Canada for adults 18 and over, and a separate October post adds Singapore. Everyone else has to look elsewhere for now.

If you'd rather stay: four Muse settings to change first

Some of these concerns can be narrowed inside Muse without switching to anything else. Meta documents each of these controls.

1. Open Settings, then Data controls, and turn off the option that helps improve Meta's AI models (steps here).
2. Go through Connectors in Settings and limit services to retrieving data where you can, so Muse reads your calendar without being able to send an invite (connector guide).
3. Under Settings, then Permissions, switch connectors to Always ask and remove any Always allow answers you gave earlier (approval guide).
4. On a Mac, set each local app to Off or Read only rather than Read and interact, under File System Access in Settings (Mac guide).

Meta's privacy policy for Muse also says that with a separate account, your interactions and cloud computer data aren't shared with other Meta products.

Siri AI: the assistant already on your Apple devices

Siri AI is the alternative you may already have, if you own a recent Apple device. Apple's announcement describes an assistant that searches your messages, email and photos, acts on what's on screen and takes actions across apps, on iPhone 16 or later and on iPads and Macs with M1 or later, running the 27 releases of Apple's systems.

Privacy is the difference. Apple says many features run on the device, and that personal data handled by its Private Cloud Compute servers isn't stored or made accessible to Apple. Siri AI is a beta, though, in English first, not initially available on iPhone in the EU and not available in China. Apple sets no price today, but its server features have daily limits, with expanded access planned for a fee. Apple's post also doesn't describe a cloud computer that keeps working for you, so expect an assistant at hand more than a long-running agent.

Choose Siri AI if you mostly want your own information found and small actions taken, and you'd rather Apple than Meta handled it.

OpenClaw: your own machine, your choice of model

OpenClaw is the answer if your objection is any company running the agent at all. OpenClaw's site describes an MIT-licensed assistant with no subscription or hosted tier, desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux, and 29 chat channels including WhatsApp, Signal and iMessage. It browses the web, fills forms, reads and writes files and runs shell commands, and you can use hosted, subscription-backed or local models.

You take on the work Meta does for Muse users. OpenClaw's docs call for a recent Node.js and, typically, an API key from a model provider, whose costs you pay separately. Its site offers full system access or a sandbox, and that choice becomes yours to get right. Unless you run a local model, your chosen provider still sees what you send it.

Choose OpenClaw if you're comfortable administering software and want to pick the model and decide where the data sits.

ChatGPT Work and dots: the same idea, from OpenAI

ChatGPT dots are the closest match to how Muse works. OpenAI's dots guide describes always-on agents with their own cloud computer and browser that keep going when your computer is off. You can reach yours in ChatGPT, Slack, Microsoft Teams or by phone call, and link one personal computer for local work.

ChatGPT reaches more countries than Muse and costs more for the always-on version. Dots are open to adults outside the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, on Pro plans and Business Premium, with a gradual rollout. OpenAI's pricing guide starts Pro at $100 a month, and says the task-focused ChatGPT Work is included across its plans, with Plus at $20 a month. Its controls page lets you set rules for acting without asking, asking first or handing a step to you, and your usual ChatGPT data settings apply.

Choose ChatGPT if your work already sits in Slack or Teams, or Muse isn't offered where you live and $100 a month is acceptable.

Gemini Spark: for a life already in Google

Gemini Spark is Google's cloud agent, built around Gmail, Docs, Slides and other Workspace apps. Google's launch post describes recurring tasks such as scanning card statements for hidden fees, and multi-step work such as turning meeting notes into a document and drafting follow-up emails. It keeps running with your laptop closed, connects to outside services such as Canva, OpenTable and Instacart, and is designed to ask first before spending money or sending email.

There's no free route. Google's August post limits Spark to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, in over 160 countries but not the European Economic Area, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK. Google's plans page lists Pro at $19.99 a month, with Ultra shown at $99.99 a month.

Choose Gemini Spark if your mail, files and calendar are already at Google and you'd rather extend that trust than start a new one with Meta.

Merlin: for Mac desk work around email and meetings

Merlin, which we make, is narrower than Muse and built around your working day on a Mac. It tracks the replies you still owe and the contacts you've lost touch with, records meetings, runs errands on websites in its own browser and shows your subscriptions from your mail. ⌥Space brings it up over any app you're using. Request an outgoing message or a calendar change in chat and a card comes back to approve first; browser tasks stop short of a payment or a final submission. Routines, tasks that run on a schedule or on an event, are different: they run unattended, so one you allow to post to Slack posts without a card. A standing permission you give it also skips the card for that errand.

Muse beats Merlin on reach, and on some Mac access. Merlin has no phone app and no WhatsApp, and makes no phone calls. Setup requires a Google account with Gmail and Calendar, and browser tasks pause when your Mac sleeps. Its people tracking reads email only, while Muse's Mac app can read iMessage, Notes and Reminders. Android users and anyone who manages life from a phone should look elsewhere.

Merlin also isn't a no-cloud option. Meeting audio stays on your Mac, but transcripts, notes and people records live on your account. Our privacy policy says we don't sell personal information, and it tells you to ask the team about AI providers' training terms, so do that if it decides it for you. If data control is your main reason for leaving Muse, OpenClaw or Siri AI answers it more directly. Merlin's free plan includes 5,000 credits a month with no card, and Pro is $29 a month or $278 a year. To plan what to hand over first, whichever agent you pick, see our guide to delegating.

How Muse and its alternatives line up

Muse and these alternatives differ most on where the agent runs and who can reach what it holds. Prices are as published, in US dollars, and usage allowances aren't comparable between products.

How to choose a Muse alternative

The quickest way to choose is to name the sentence in Meta's terms that bothered you, then match it below.

• You don't want Meta holding your accounts, and you use Apple devices: start with Siri AI, and accept that it's a beta and less of a long-running agent.
• You don't want any company running the agent: OpenClaw, if you're willing to maintain it.
• Muse isn't offered where you live: Gemini Spark or ChatGPT, after checking the excluded countries in the table. Neither cloud agent is open in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, so look at OpenClaw there.
• Your work runs on Slack, Teams or Google Workspace: ChatGPT for the first two, Gemini Spark for the third.
• You work at a Mac all day in Gmail and meetings: Merlin.
• You want a free agent on Android and WhatsApp, and Meta's terms are fine after the settings above: keep Muse.

How to leave Muse cleanly

Leaving Muse takes more than deleting the app, because the agent holds access and memory on a computer in Meta's cloud. Copy out the results you still need, then work through these.

1. Cancel a paid plan from your subscription details if you have one. Meta's page says plans renew each month until you cancel.
2. Disconnect services in Settings, then Connectors (connector guide).
3. If you installed the Mac app, go to System Settings, then Privacy & Security, and remove Muse's Full Disk Access, Automation and Notifications permissions (Mac guide).
4. Reset Muse to delete your Muse data. Meta's privacy page warns Muse may still remember deleted items, and offers a forget skill that removes a topic to the best of its ability, so use that before the reset.