ICEBlock: The app that alerts users about immigration raids

[cbabe]

https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-07-01/iceblock-the-app-that-alerts-users-about-immigration-raids.html

ICEBlock: The app that alerts users about immigration raids

The Waze-inspired cell phone application seeks to warn migrant communities about the presence of ICE officers amid the rise in deportations

MARISOL JIMÉNEZ
JUL 01, 2025 - 06:47 EDT

“When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back.” That’s how developer Joshua Aaron explained to CNN why he created ICEBlock, a cell phone app that alerts users about the presence of immigration agents in urban areas, amid the tightening of immigration policies in the United States.

…

Inspired by the model of Waze, a collaborative app that alerts users about traffic, ICEBlock functions as an early warning and anonymous platform designed to help immigrant communities stay informed about operations carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “See something, tap something” is its motto. With just two taps on their cell phone, users can mark on a map the location where agents were identified, add a brief description, and send an automatic alert to other users within a five-mile (approximately eight-kilometer) radius.

The app doesn’t collect personal data or permanent geolocation, and reports are automatically deleted after four hours. “We don’t want anybody’s device ID, IP address, location. We don’t want anything being discoverable,” Aaron told CNN. These technical restrictions aim to prevent misuse of the platform: users can submit only one report every five minutes, and it must be sent from their current physical location.

In just a few weeks, ICEBlock has surpassed 20,000 users, many in cities like Los Angeles, where massive protests against the president’s immigration policies took place in early June. For many people, the app has become a vital tool. As one user who gave it five stars on the Apple Store put it: “The most important app for the moment. This app puts the hands in the power of the people and allows anyone to pinpoint the location of immigration agents within a five-mile radius of your location. Whether you or someone you know may or may not be in jeopardy, please spread the word about this important app. It could literally save someone’s life.”

… more … ice says reckless and irresponsible … developer doxed by magas … but he persists…

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Here are some suggestions if you see a suspected ICE raid

I think that these suggestions make sense

We need for these people to provide proper identification

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. New ICEBlock app lets users anonymously drop pins and share real-time sightings of ICE agents

New ICEBlock app lets users anonymously drop pins and share real-time sightings of ICE agents.

— Blue Georgia (@bluegeorgia.bsky.social) 2025-06-30T22:21:47.459Z

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. The creator of the ICEBlock app -- which tracks ICE agents in real time -- dares Donald Trump to arrest him.

BREAKING: The creator of the ICEBlock app — which tracks ICE agents in real time — dares Donald Trump to arrest him.

“Come after me. Demonize me all you want. I’m not backing down.”

— Krassensteins (@krassenstein.bsky.social) 2025-07-05T19:08:19.289Z

BREAKING: The creator of the ICEBlock app — which tracks ICE agents in real time — dares Donald Trump to arrest him.

“Come after me. Demonize me all you want. I’m not backing down.”

🔥 The challenge has been thrown.

NOTHING will happen because no grand jury would ever indict him for using his first amendment rights.

[indusurb]

4. When is he going to put it on the Android store? n/t