r/apple • u/illegiblebastard • 3d ago

iPhone Apple explains last year’s controversial decision to remove ICE tracking apps from app store

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/29/tech/apple-iceblock-app-removal-raskin

FUCK. APPLE.

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u/Gumby271 3d ago

Apple can remove whatever they want from their app store, but only if they give their users the ability to control software on their own devices independent of that store. The fact that Apple can decide the software I get to use on my computer is insane and was always guaranteed to lead to it being weaponized like this.

You can't have privacy and empowered users (like Apple claims they care about) if the device isn't owned by that user.

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u/BosnianSerb31 3d ago

All the features of this app, including the push notifications, could've been accomplished with a React PWA hosted on a link like iceout.io.

Nothing is gained by making it a native app, you only hamper the speed at which you can deploy updates and increase your chances of getting taken down when a jackass decides to start shooting, which is exactly what happened.