Apple removes ICE tracking app after outrage from Trump administration

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Oct 3, 2025

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Apple will no longer offer an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracking app after coming under fire from the Trump administration.

The free ICEBlock app that allowed users to anonymously report and monitor the movements of immigration agents was removed from the App Store Thursday night.

Earlier this year, the app’s developers urged U.S. citizens to download and use their technology to report ICE sightings within a 5 mile radius of their location. The group said Thursday that Apple dropped ICEBlock because it violated the seller’s “objectionable content” guidelines.

“The only thing we can imagine is this is due to pressure from the Trump Admin,” the app maker wrote on Bluesky, where it vowed to challenge the decision.

The company said its more than 1 million users should still be able to use the app if it’s already been downloaded, even though it’s been removed from the marketplace.

Apple said in a statement that it dropped the app based on information from law enforcement agents that it presents a safety risk to immigration officials.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that her office had reached out to Apple on Thursday and demanded they dump the app. She claimed ICEBlock was “designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.”

But those who support such apps — which have been in higher demand since the Trump administration returned to power in January — argue that tracking ICE activity is a form of free speech.

Social media users called for ICEBlock to be made available for Android devices to limit the effect Apple’s actions will have the app’s effectiveness. The developer has expressed technical concerns about being able to provide anonymity to Android users.