ICEBlock was pulled from the App Store on Thursday, Oct. 2. The removal came at the request of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who claimed the app's crowdsourced alerts endangered ICE agents, Fox News reported.
Apple confirmed the decision, citing safety concerns.
"We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps," an Apple spokesperson told Fox News. "Based on information we've received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store."
The app uses crowdsourced reports of ICE sightings, visible within a five-mile radius, with alerts designed to expire after four hours. ICEBlock's creator, veteran developer Joshua Aaron, said the goal was to keep communities informed without collecting user data.
Bondi said ICE agents are facing more violence as they carry out President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.
"ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed," Bondi told Fox News. "This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe."
Aaron defended his app, which he now says has more than 1.1 million users.
"Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move," Aaron said. "Apple has claimed they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock served to harm law enforcement officers. This is patently false."
The takedown marks a sharp reversal for the app, which surged to the top of Apple's charts in July after a CNN report spotlighted it. ICEBlock had ranked as high as No. 3 overall among free apps in the App Store and No. 1 in the social networking category.
Aaron argued that ICEBlock functions like other mapping services that use crowd reports for traffic or speed traps.
"We are determined to fight this with everything we have," Aaron said. "Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to reign down on the people of this nation."
ICEBlock was removed about a week after 29-year-old Josha Jahn killed two detainees at an ICE facility in Dallas before dying by suicide in a shooting that didn't injure any ICE agents.
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