Apple $AAPL said late Thursday that it had removed several apps from its App Store that allowed users to monitor and share information about immigration agents, after the Trump administration threatened the developers with criminal prosecution.
ICEBlock caught the attention of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who threatened to investigate the app developers
In this photo illustration, the ICEBlock app is displayed on an Apple iPhone on October 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Apple $AAPL said late Thursday that it had removed several apps from its App Store that allowed users to monitor and share information about immigration agents, after the Trump administration threatened the developers with criminal prosecution.
The most prominent app removed was ICEBlock, a free, crowdsourcing app for users to anonymously send information about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within a five-mile radius. It had surpassed one million downloads a month ago.
The developer said in a social media post on Thursday that it will attempt to restore the app to the App Store.
"We just received a message from Apple's App Review that #ICEBlock has been removed from the App Store due to 'objectionable content,'" the ICEBlock developers said. "The only thing we can imagine is this is due to pressure from the Trump Admin."
The New York Times reported the development earlier. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company told The Times that it had taken down the apps after getting contacted by "law enforcement." The company's statement apparently did not specify which federal agencies had done so.
Another similar app, Coqui, was available on the App store as of Friday morning.
The Trump administration has significantly ramped up deportations of undocumented immigrants. That has prompted increased usage of crowdsourcing apps for people attempting to avoid arrest and detention. The apps caught the attention of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who threatened to investigate the developers for putting federal agents at risk.
"He's giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are," Bondi said in a July Fox News interview. "And he cannot do that. And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that's not a protected speech."
It's unclear under what grounds the ICEBlock developers could be prosecuted.
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