Digital Marketing TIps

Applebot

Posted on by W3C Locker
Applebot
26
May

Applebot Exposed: Hidden Ways Apple's Crawler Scrapes Your Website Data

Applebot is now at the center of a growing controversy as approximately 7% of high-traffic websites block its AI data collection activities. Less than three months after Apple launched its opt-out tool for publishers, many prominent news outlets, including The New York Times, have chosen to exclude their content from Apple’s AI training processes.

We’ve discovered that the landscape of web crawling has significantly changed with the introduction of Applebot-Extended, which determines how data collected by the original applebot user agent is used for AI training. According to research by Dark Visitors, about 6% of another sample of high-traffic websites have blocked Applebot-Extended, compared to 53% blocking OpenAI’s bot. This trend points to a broader issue – the conflict between tech companies’ AI aspirations and publishers’ intellectual property rights.

In this article, I’ll explore how Applebot operates, what information it collects from your website, and why major publishers are increasingly using blocking as a negotiating tactic. You’ll also learn practical methods to control how your content is used through official documentation at http www apple com go applebot, and understand the strategic implications of allowing or blocking these AI crawlers.

Understanding Applebot and Applebot-Extended

While most web users never encounter Applebot directly, this web crawler has been quietly operating since 2015, initially designed to power Apple’s search features across its ecosystem. I find that understanding both Applebot and its newer extension reveals how Apple collects and utilizes web data.

Applebot user agent and its original purpose

Applebot originally emerged to support various Apple services like Siri and Spotlight by crawling and indexing web content. The crawler identifies itself through a specific user agent string that contains “Applebot” alongside other browser information. For example:
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/17.4 Safari/605.1.15 (Applebot/0.1; +http://www.apple.com/go/applebot)
This web crawler essentially powers search technology integrated throughout Apple’s ecosystem, making website content discoverable through Spotlight, Siri, and Safari.

What is Applebot-Extended and how it differs

Following Apple’s WWDC event and the announcement of Apple Intelligence, the company introduced Applebot-Extended. Unlike its predecessor, Applebot-Extended doesn’t actually crawl websites. Instead, it determines how data already collected by the standard Applebot can be utilized.
The primary difference is that Applebot-Extended specifically governs whether your website content can be used to train Apple’s foundation models for generative AI features. This creates a crucial distinction – even if you block Applebot-Extended, your content may still appear in Apple’s search results if you allow the original Applebot.

http www apple com go applebot: official documentation

Apple maintains comprehensive documentation at http://www.apple.com/go/applebot, where publishers can learn how the crawler functions. The official documentation clearly outlines both crawlers’ behaviors, explaining that Applebot respects standard robots.txt directives while Applebot-Extended provides additional control over AI training usage.

Through this documentation, I discovered that Apple has implemented this two-tiered approach primarily to respect publisher rights while maintaining search functionality. Publishers can verify Applebot’s identity through reverse DNS lookups in the *.applebot.apple.com domain or by matching IP addresses against Apple’s provided CIDR prefixes.

How Applebot-Extended Uses Your Website Data

Beyond simply crawling the web, understanding how Apple processes and uses the data it collects reveals deeper implications for website owners. The relationship between Applebot and Applebot-Extended creates a two-tier system for data usage.

Data collection for Apple's foundation models

When Applebot crawls your website, the collected data serves multiple purposes. First, it powers search functions across Apple’s ecosystem. Moreover, this same data may be used to train Apple’s foundation models that drive generative AI features across Apple products, including Apple Intelligence, Services, and Developer Tools.
To build these foundation models, Apple combines information from three sources: licensed third-party content, publicly available internet data, and synthetically created material. Despite these extensive collection practices, Apple emphasizes that it “does not use our users’ private personal data or user interactions when training our foundation models”.

Rendering and indexing behavior of Applebot

Applebot doesn’t just scan text—it renders webpages similarly to modern browsers. For your website to be properly indexed, all resources needed to render the page must be accessible to Applebot. This includes JavaScript, Ajax requests, CSS files, and images.
If you block these resources in your robots.txt file, Applebot may fail to render your content properly, affecting how it appears in search results. Consequently, Apple recommends implementing “graceful degradation” so your site performs adequately even if some resources are unavailable.

Meta tag directives: noindex, nosnippet, nofollow

Applebot respects standard robots meta tags placed in the HTML head section. These directives provide granular control over how your content is processed

    • noindex: Prevents your page from appearing in Spotlight or Siri Suggestions
    • nosnippet: Blocks Applebot from generating descriptions or web answers for your page
    • nofollow: Instructs Applebot not to follow any links on the page
    • none: Combines all restrictions (noindex, nosnippet, nofollow)
    • all: Allows full indexing, snippet generation, and link following

These directives can be combined either through a comma-separated list or through multiple meta tags. Through careful use of these controls, you can effectively manage how Apple’s technology interacts with your website content.

How to Block Applebot-Extended in robots.txt

For website owners concerned about Apple’s data collection for AI training, controlling access through robots.txt offers a straightforward solution. The implementation requires specific syntax and understanding of its implications across Apple’s ecosystem.

robots.txt syntax for Applebot-Extended

Implementing a block for Applebot-Extended requires adding specific directives to your website’s robots.txt file. The syntax is straightforward:

User-agent: Applebot-Extended
Disallow: /

This configuration blocks Applebot-Extended from using your entire website for AI training purposes. Alternatively, you can block specific directories:

User-agent: Applebot-Extended
Disallow: /private/

Notably, this directive specifically targets how your data is used rather than how it’s collected, as Applebot-Extended doesn’t actually crawl webpages itself.

Impact of blocking on Siri and Spotlight visibility

One critical distinction to understand: blocking Applebot-Extended does not affect your website’s visibility in Apple’s search ecosystem. Even after implementing these blocks, your content remains discoverable through Spotlight, Siri, and other system-wide features on Apple devices if you continue allowing the standard Applebot crawler.
As Apple officially confirms, “Webpages that disallow Applebot-Extended can still be included in search results.” Furthermore, “Applebot-Extended is only used to determine how to use the data crawled by the Applebot user agent.”

Limitations of robots.txt: honor system and enforcement

The robots.txt protocol functions primarily as an honor system without legal enforcement mechanisms. Although respected by legitimate crawlers as a long-standing norm, compliance remains voluntary. As one expert bluntly notes, “robots.txt might stop the nice guys but there’s nothing that says any web crawler has to honor what it says.”
This limitation creates practical challenges for website owners. The manual nature of robots.txt file maintenance makes it difficult to keep pace with the rapidly growing number of AI crawlers. “People just don’t know what to block,” explains Dark Visitors founder Gavin King, whose service helps automate robots.txt updates for clients concerned about AI scraping.

Publisher Responses and Strategic Implications

Several high-profile media companies have made calculated decisions about Applebot-Extended access to their content. This growing trend reveals strategic considerations beyond simple technological concerns.

Why major publishers like NYT and Vox block Applebot-Extended

Major publishers are increasingly restricting Apple’s AI crawler from accessing their content. Analysis by Originality AI found approximately 7% of high-traffic websites block Applebot-Extended. Among these publishers:

    • The New York Times
    • Vox Media
    • Condé Nast publications
    • Financial Times
    • The Atlantic
    • USA Today network

The New York Times explicitly states that “scraping or using our content for commercial purposes is prohibited without our prior written permission”. Likewise, Vox Media blocks Applebot-Extended “as we have done with many other AI scraping tools when we don’t have a commercial agreement with the other party”.

Licensing deals vs blocking: a business strategy

Many publishers view blocking as a negotiating tactic. Data journalist Ben Welsh observes “a bit of a divide has emerged among news publishers about whether or not they want to block these bots”. Primarily, this represents a business calculation – withholding content until favorable terms are secured.
Considering the evidence, this approach appears effective. Condé Nast, for instance, previously blocked OpenAI’s crawlers yet unblocked them after announcing a partnership. Buzzfeed applies a similar policy, blocking every AI web-crawling bot unless its owner enters into a partnership.

Tracking bot access through robots.txt changes

The robots.txt file has evolved from an obscure technical document into a strategic business tool. Data journalist Ben Welsh maintains an ongoing project monitoring how news outlets approach major AI agents. His analysis of 1,167 primarily English-language, US-based publications found 294 (about 25%) blocking Applebot-Extended.
Nevertheless, this number appears to be “gradually moving upward”. In comparison, 53% of those same news websites block OpenAI’s bot. This disparity suggests publishers are making calculated decisions about which AI systems to allow or restrict based on their individual business strategies.

Conclusion

The battle over AI data collection through Applebot and Applebot-Extended clearly illustrates the growing tension between tech giants and content creators. Throughout this article, I’ve demonstrated how Apple’s two-tiered crawling system works—the original Applebot indexes content for search functionality while Applebot-Extended governs how that same data feeds AI training models.

Publishers now face important strategic decisions about their content. Certainly, major media organizations like The New York Times and Vox Media have chosen to block Applebot-Extended specifically as a negotiating tactic, hoping to secure favorable licensing terms. Their approach seems effective, considering approximately 7% of high-traffic websites now implement similar restrictions.

Website owners should therefore understand their available options. The robots.txt file has transformed from a technical document into a business tool with significant implications. Though implementing these controls requires some technical knowledge, Apple’s documentation at http://www.apple.com/go/applebot provides clear guidance on properly managing both crawlers.

Ultimately, this situation highlights a fundamental question about data ownership in the AI era. The conflict between AI development needs and intellectual property rights will likely intensify as generative AI capabilities expand. Website administrators must consequently weigh the benefits of inclusion in Apple’s ecosystem against the potential value of their content being used for AI training purposes. These decisions will shape both individual business outcomes and the broader digital content landscape for years to come.

W3C Locker

We value your privacy

We use Cookies to Enhance your Browsing Experience, Serve Personalized Ads or Content, and Analyze our Traffic. By Clicking "Accept All", You Consent to our use of Cookies. Cookie Policy.

More info Accept