Apple recorded every App Store move

Apple has been recording detailed information about how users interact with the App Store, including every tap, search term, and typing speed, according to security researchers — and there’s no way for users to turn it off.

The company has long positioned itself as a champion of user privacy. “Privacy is a fundamental human right,” Apple executives say during nearly every product launch and keynote. The company has built much of its brand around the claim that, unlike competitors, it does not collect or sell personal data to third parties.

But that reputation is facing fresh scrutiny as Apple pushes harder into advertising. The shift started with suggested apps in the App Store, then expanded to more prominent ad placements, and most recently to business suggestions in Apple Maps.

After the WWDC 2026 keynote, Apple began rolling out personalized recommendations on the App Store. The company said these recommendations help developers grow and reach new audiences. But researchers from the security-focused X account Mysk found something else.

Apple is now recording every tap a user makes inside the App Store, Mysk reported. The monitoring includes typing speed, search terms, where exactly on the screen a user taps, and which version of the operating system they’re running. None of this tracking can be disabled.

Apple typically defends its data practices by pointing out that its strict privacy rules apply to third-party developers, that it doesn’t sell data, and that it only uses randomized, aggregated information. But critics say that argument misses a key point: users never get a meaningful choice about whether their data is collected in the first place.

The company’s growing advertising business makes its privacy promises harder to square with reality. If Apple is collecting detailed behavioral data to serve ads, the line between its own practices and the ones it criticizes in companies like Meta and Google starts to blur.

Users can’t opt out from personalized recommendations

Mysk raised a pointed question about the lack of alternatives. “If you don’t like Apple Music’s privacy options, you can stream music from Spotify,” the researchers wrote. “But where else can you download apps on the iPhone?”

That question gets at a larger issue: Apple’s control over the only official way to install software on its phones. The company was forced to allow third-party app stores in Europe under the Digital Markets Act, and other countries are considering similar laws. But for most users around the world, the App Store remains the only option.

It’s an odd position for one of the most valuable companies on the planet. Apple often talks about privacy like it’s the underdog — the one company users can trust because it sells hardware, not ads. Meanwhile, it paints rivals like Meta and Google as data-hungry predators.

Now it feels like Apple is doing some of the same things it warned users about. The question is whether anyone can save users from Apple itself.