{"id":91109,"date":"2025-10-05T16:38:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T16:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps"},"modified":"2025-10-06T08:33:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T08:33:59","slug":"apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps","title":{"rendered":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n

The tech giant said it had removed ICEBlock from its App Store after law enforcement made it aware of \u201csafety risks\u201d associated with it and \u201csimilar apps\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another app called ICE Immigration Alerts has been removed from the App Store and Google Play. A third, Coqui, has also been taken down from Google Play.<\/p>\n

In a statement US Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had \u201cdemanded\u201d the removal of ICEBlock saying it was \u201cdesigned to put ICE agents at risk\u201d.<\/p>\n

The app\u2019s creator contacted BBC Verify after receiving an email informing him of the removal and accused Apple of \u201ccapitulating to an authoritarian regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision means existing users of ICEBlock can continue to use the app but it cannot be newly downloaded.<\/p>\n

A number of apps were released this year in response to President Trump\u2019s crackdown on illegal immigration and an upsurge in ICE raids.<\/p>\n

Critics \u2013 such as the creator of ICEBlock \u2013 accuse the government of abusing its powers and \u201cbringing terror\u201d to US streets.<\/p>\n

The free app works by allowing users to report sightings of ICE officers. It has been downloaded more than a million times in the US.<\/p>\n

However, Bondi argued it was being used to target ICE officers. The FBI says the man who targeted an ICE facility in Dallas in September \u2013 killing two detainees \u2013 had used similar apps to track the movements of agents and their vehicles.<\/p>\n

In a statement Apple said: \u201cWe created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on information we\u2019ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.\u201d<\/p>\n

But its creator, Joshua Aaron, denied it posed a threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cICEBlock is no different from crowd sourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple\u2019s own Maps app,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is protected speech under the first amendment of the United States Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can the US government ban apps that track ICE agents?<\/p>\n

Mr Aaron \u2013 who has worked in the tech industry for years \u2013 previously told BBC Verify he developed the app out of concern over a spike in immigration raids.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly watched pretty closely during Trump\u2019s first administration and then I listened to the rhetoric during the campaign for the second,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brain started firing on what was going to happen and what I could do to keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House and FBI had criticised the app after it launched in April and downloads rose.<\/p>\n

In a statement to the BBC a spokesperson for the Department for Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cICE tracking apps put the lives of the men and women of law enforcement in danger as they go after terrorists, vicious gangs and violent criminal rings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, of course, the media spins this correct decision for Apple to remove these apps as them caving to pressure instead of preventing further bloodshed and stopping law enforcement from getting killed,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The creator of the app ICE Immigration Alerts, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC that it was pulled from Apple and Google\u2019s app platforms within hours of each other.<\/p>\n

They said Apple had informed them the app was taken down at the request of \u201claw enforcement\u201d over similar concerns it could be used to harm officers.<\/p>\n

Separately, Google allegedly told them the app had been removed over concern it would \u201cundermine user trust in the Google Play ecosystem\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cApple did not offer an opportunity to appeal the decision,\u201d said the app\u2019s developer, who is based in New Zealand. \u201cGoogle gave me seven days to appeal but without any clear explanation it is difficult to appeal, and I don\u2019t want to risk them further affecting my account.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a somewhat chilling commentary on free speech,\u201d they added. \u201cNo dangerous incidents have ever occurred as far as I know. It\u2019s just about controlling the information unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BBC has approached Apple for comment.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Google confirmed it had removed \u201csimilar apps\u201d to ICEBlock for \u201cviolations of [its] policies.\u201d It did not say which apps, or the nature of the violations.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The tech giant said it had removed ICEBlock from its App Store after law enforcement made it aware of \u201csafety risks\u201d associated with it and \u201csimilar apps\u201d. Another app called ICE Immigration Alerts has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-91109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nApple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-05T16:38:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T08:33:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"976\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"549\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-05T16:38:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T08:33:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\"},\"wordCount\":736,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\",\"name\":\"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps - South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-05T16:38:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T08:33:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg\",\"width\":976,\"height\":549,\"caption\":\"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps - South Africa","description":"Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps","og_description":"Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps","og_site_name":"South Africa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-10-05T16:38:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-06T08:33:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":976,"height":549,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps","datePublished":"2025-10-05T16:38:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-06T08:33:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps"},"wordCount":736,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg","keywords":["South-Africa"],"articleSection":["all news","miscellaneous"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps","name":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps - South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-05T16:38:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-06T08:33:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Apple has pulled apps that let users flag sightings of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759670310.098373.jpg","width":976,"height":549,"caption":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/apple-removes-immigration-official-tracking-apps#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Apple Removes Immigration Official Tracking Apps"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/","name":"South Africa","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}