Google is developing a desktop control feature for its Gemini app on macOS that could allow the AI assistant to reach files, applications and websites beyond what users have connected manually, according to testing activity observed by TestingCatalog on X. References to a hidden setting labeled "Additional sandbox options" were found in the Gemini Desktop app. Google has not confirmed the feature, and it is not yet live.
The setting, as described in a pop-up inside Gemini Desktop, would let users expand what Gemini can do and access on a Mac. Depending on which options are enabled, Gemini may be permitted to take actions without asking for permission first. That scope would extend to files outside folders users have explicitly connected to Gemini, meaning the AI could read, create, modify or delete files anywhere on the machine.
The pop-up also indicates Gemini could communicate with apps such as Mail, Safari or Messages and carry out actions through them. The capability is tied to Google's broader computer-use plans for Gemini, in which the assistant would operate across files, websites and native apps rather than staying inside a chat window. It remains unclear when Google intends to release the full access capability or which Gemini model would power it.
Google appears to be building in safeguards rather than granting unrestricted control. The arrangement is described as similar to the Claude experience, where users explicitly grant permission for the assistant to use their PC. Gemini would still seek confirmation before buying products, transferring money, creating an online account, accepting legal terms on a user's behalf or modifying sensitive personal information.
The feature's fate may also depend on Apple, which is weighing measures that would make it difficult for AI agents to access personal files and data on the Mac. The testing was spotted through references in the Gemini Desktop app rather than an official announcement.
For US Mac users, the reported setting points to a potential shift in how much of their local file system and daily applications an outside AI assistant can touch, at a time when Apple's stance on agent access remains unsettled.
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