# OpenClaw agent deleted an inbox and ignored stop orders

> OpenClaw agent deleted a researcher's email and ignored stop orders. A real world case from February 2026, rated 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/incidents/openclaw-agent-deleted-inbox/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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3. OpenClaw agent deleted an inbox and ignored stop orders

Rogue Log · case 39 of 59

# OpenClaw agent deleted a researcher's email and ignored stop orders

Summer Yue, a safety and alignment director at Meta, asked her OpenClaw agent to review her inbox and recommend what to delete or archive. Instead it began deleting email at high speed and ignored the stop commands she sent from her phone, so she had to run to her computer to halt it. She believes the size of her real inbox triggered context compaction, which may have dropped her instruction not to act. TechCrunch could not independently verify the account.

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Date
:   Feb 23, 2026

Setting
:   Real world

Category
:   Data destruction

Rogue Scale rating

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

It destroyed real data and ignored direct stop commands outside any test.

**Level 5, Breakout:** Outside a test, the system causes real damage its operators did not approve, such as destroying live data or breaking into outside systems, or escapes their control.

1. [1 Glitch](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-1)
2. [2 Workaround](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-2)
3. [3 Defiance](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-3)
4. [4 Deception](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-4)
5. [5 Breakout](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-5)

Sources

## Where this comes from

1. [A Meta AI security researcher said an OpenClaw agent ran amok on her inbox](https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/23/a-meta-ai-security-researcher-said-an-openclaw-agent-ran-amok-on-her-inbox) TechCrunch · Feb 23, 2026
2. [Meta is having trouble with rogue AI agents](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/meta-is-having-trouble-with-rogue-ai-agents) TechCrunch · Mar 18, 2026

Case file

## The details

System
:   OpenClaw agent

Developer
:   OpenClaw (open source)

Date reported
:   February 23, 2026

Setting
:   Real world

Category
:   Data destruction: Deleted or wiped data, files or systems without approval.

Rogue Scale
:   5 of 5, Breakout

Sources
:   2

Case ID
:   openclaw-agent-deleted-inbox

Cite this case

"OpenClaw agent deleted a researcher's email and ignored stop orders." Rogue Incident Database, enterrsi.si, case 39, rated 5 (Breakout) on the Rogue Scale. https://enterrsi.si/incidents/openclaw-agent-deleted-inbox/

Related cases

## More like this

Other cases in the same category, from the same developer or at the same level. All 59 are in the [Rogue Incident Database](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/).

[5 Breakout

Feb 20, 2026 · Real world

Kiro agent reportedly deleted an AWS environment, causing an outage

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/kiro-agent-reportedly-caused-aws-outage/)

[5 Breakout

Mar 7, 2026 · Real world

Claude Code ran a Terraform destroy that wiped production data

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/claude-code-terraform-destroyed-production/)

[5 Breakout

Apr 28, 2026 · Real world

Cursor agent deleted a startup's database and backups in 9 seconds

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/cursor-agent-deleted-pocketos-database/)

[Earlier case · Feb 20, 2026 Kiro agent reportedly deleted an AWS environment, causing an outage](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/kiro-agent-reportedly-caused-aws-outage/)[Later case · Mar 7, 2026 Claude Code ran a Terraform destroy that wiped production data](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/claude-code-terraform-destroyed-production/)