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Apple has withdrawn apps that enabled users to report observations of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The technology giant declared it had removed the tracking application from its application marketplace after law enforcement notified them about possible "safety risks" associated with this software and "similar apps".

According to a statement shared with news outlets, US Attorney General the official had "insisted on" the app's elimination stating it was "developed to put enforcement personnel at risk".

The app's creator responded that such claims were "patently false" and alleged the tech firm of "giving in to an oppressive government".

History of the Controversial App

ICEBlock is among numerous programs introduced recently in answer to expanded immigration enforcement activities across the America.

Opponents - like the maker of this application - accuse the administration of misusing its powers and "creating fear" to local neighborhoods.

The no-cost app functions by displaying the movements of ICE personnel. It has been downloaded more than a 1 million instances in the United States.

Risk Factors

Nonetheless, authorities contended it was being utilized to focus on ICE officers, with the FBI indicating that the person who assaulted an enforcement office in Texas in recently - murdering two detainees - had utilized comparable applications to monitor the activities of personnel and their cars.

According to their announcement, the company commented: "We developed the application marketplace to be a safe and trusted place to discover applications.

"According to intelligence we've obtained from police about the potential dangers linked to the software, we have eliminated it and similar apps from the App Store."

Developer's Response

But its creator, Joshua Aaron, refuted it posed a threat.

"The software is no different from crowd sourcing police locations, which each significant location software, even Apple's own mapping application," he stated.

"This is protected speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."

The developer - who has had experience in the software field for a long time - earlier explained he designed the software out of worry over a increase in enforcement operations.

"I definitely observed pretty closely during the previous administration and then I heard the language during the campaign for the current," he explained.

"My brain started thinking about what was going to happen and what I could achieve to protect individuals."

Official Response

The White House and FBI had condemned the application after it was released in April and installations rose.