On 3 October 2025 Apple removed Eyes Up, an app that archived video of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement conduct collected from social platforms and news sources. The removal came a day after Apple removed ICEBlock, an app that reported ICE sightings, following public pressure from the Department of Justice. Attorney General Pam Bondi said ICEBlock “is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.” Apple’s stated reason to the ICEBlock developer was “objectionable content”; no Apple reason for the Eyes Up removal was reported.
Google removed comparable Android apps, including Red Dot, on 3 October, saying they shared the location of a group that had recently faced violence.
Platform governance impact
The removals concentrated attention on how app-store gatekeeping affects grassroots documentation tools. The developer of ICEBlock later sued the federal government, alleging officials had pressured Apple to remove the app; in April 2026 a federal judge found that the pressure campaign violated the First Amendment. Neither app had been restored to the US app stores as of August 2026.