Apple Logs Every App Store Search and Tap With No Way to Opt Out, Researchers Say

Apple records detailed App Store interactions, including individual keystrokes and taps associated with searches, using precise timestamps, according to security researchers at Mysk. The researchers say the data is now being used to support Apple's new Personalized Collections feature and cannot currently be disabled.



In a post on X, the duo shared records from Apple's own App Store Click Activity data export showing a search for "Tim cook" being logged step-by-step. The records include separate entries for each stage of the query — from "T" and "Ti" through to "Tim cook" — with precise timestamps attached to each event. According to Mysk, the data can be used to reconstruct typing activity and calculate typing speed.


The findings come just days after Apple unveiled Personalized Collections at WWDC 2026 as part of a broader set of App Store updates. The feature surfaces tailored app recommendations across the Apps, Games, and Search tabs based on a user's activity and downloads. Apple said the recommendations would evolve over time, but it has not publicly detailed the extent of the interaction data used to generate them.

Apple's own documentation indicates the company retains App Store activity data to understand user behavior and preferences, measure feature performance, improve software design, and help ensure the integrity of transactions and user-entered content. The documentation lists fields for clicks, searches, entered terms, timestamps, page history, click targets, and other App Store interactions.

Mysk noted that the records shown in the screenshot were obtained through Apple's privacy data export system rather than network traffic analysis. The researchers said users can request a copy of their App Store activity through privacy.apple.com, where similar logs are included in the downloaded archive.

The researchers also criticized the lack of an opt-out mechanism, arguing that iPhone users in regions without alternative app stores have no practical way to avoid the data collection while continuing to download apps.


Apple has not commented on the findings or announced plans to provide a setting to disable the collection.