OpenClaw AI Agent Runs Amok, Deletes Meta Researcher’s Emails

Meta AI researcher Summer Yue's inbox was indiscriminately cleared by OpenClaw AI agent.

Meta AI security researcher Summer Yue tasked the OpenClaw AI agent with sorting through her overflowing inbox to suggest what should be deleted or archived. Instead, the bot began deleting everything indiscriminately at lightning speed.

Nothing humbles you like telling your OpenClaw “confirm before acting” and watching it speedrun deleting your inbox. I couldn’t stop it from my phone. I had to RUN to my Mac mini like I was defusing a bomb. pic.twitter.com/XAxyRwPJ5R

— Summer Yue (@summeryue0) February 23, 2026

Yue recounted how the assistant ignored her phone commands to stop.

“I had to RUN to my Mac mini like I was defusing a bomb,” she wrote.

Yue shared screenshots of the ignored stop commands.

The Mac mini—an affordable Apple computer—has recently become a favored device for running OpenClaw.

Users on X questioned: if an AI security researcher faced such an issue, what hope is there for ordinary people? They asked whether she had tested the safety constraints or made an error.

“Honestly, it’s a rookie mistake,” Yue replied.

The Meta employee had previously tested the agent on other equipment. It earned her trust, prompting her to let the assistant access her real inbox.

Cryptocurrency Ban

OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot) is an open-source service that gained popularity in late January. It allows users to create AI agents that operate locally on their devices.

In February, OpenAI invited OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger to lead the personal AI agents division. Simultaneously, the entrepreneur faced accusations of refusing to launch a project token.

In an interview with Lex Fridman, Steinberger discussed how he was attacked by the crypto community. At one point, the developer considered deleting the project.

He is not interested in issuing or promoting a token, yet users actively called for it. People created a digital asset and began demanding Steinberger acknowledge it, collect fees, and engage in development. They spammed Discord and X.

Ultimately, he was accused of not pumping the token. Meanwhile, crypto scammers attempted to hack the developer’s GitHub, and during the project’s rebranding, all usernames were quickly seized to promote new digital assets.

Subsequently, the creator of OpenClaw banned any mention of Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies on the project’s Discord server. He blocked a user for violating the rule.

We have strict server rules that you accepted when you entered the server. No crypto mention whatsoever is one of them.

— Peter Steinberger 🦞 (@steipete) February 21, 2026

“We have strict server rules that you accepted when you entered. A complete ban on mentioning cryptocurrencies is one of them,” the developer wrote.

He stated that harassment from the crypto community forced him to implement strict moderation. Some users tried to dissuade him from such a rigid policy, but to no avail.

Some users expressed the opinion that cryptocurrencies are the best use case for payments among AI agents like OpenClaw:

“Are you creating a decentralized open-source project based on Visa?”

Back in January, experts warned about the dangers of using the Clawdbot AI assistant. It could inadvertently disclose personal data and API keys.