Every day for the past 3 days around 1pm EST the 'Headspace' app has been silently appearing on my iPhone (13 Pro). Automatic downloads are turned off and I've updated to the latest iOS since this started happening.
I googled around and found a couple reddit threads with people reporting the exact same thing starting 2 or 3 days ago. There were reports from people on iPhone 12 and iPhone 17 so it doesn't seem device-specific.
Anyone else seeing this? Does anyone understand how or why this is happening?
_-x-_op3 hours ago
Here's a Reddit thread of other people experiencing the same issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/1su82sc/headspace_app_...
cortesoftan hour ago
This is fascinating. I am very curious to find out what the actual cause of this turns out to be.
trueno17 minutes ago
same. i get blasted with ads for this app on whatever platform, never installed it myself. the amount of promotions + this = my underdeveloped brain is so ready to assume the worst here. been a while since i used my pitchfork & i'm here for the riot.
if it is, in fact, something nefarious at play that would be a pretty crazy 2026 era exploit. but i'm certain it's a bug/artifact of some sort that, for whatever reason, affects this specific app.
Bjartr3 hours ago
Based on that I'd guess either a meditation app company has figured out how to circumvent a lot of controls put in place by Apple, or it's a bug on Apple's side
a34729t2 hours ago
Or it is a mandated backdoor, and someone internally objected, and made it easier to exploit than it should be, or leaked how to exploit it?
8cvor6j844qw_d6an hour ago
> mandated backdoor
Probably one from the repository of backdoors "accidentally" introduced or "never" discovered.
The mechanism's there, just needs to be woven with other exploits.
_-x-_op3 hours ago
Yeah, I think the latter is more likely than the former. Perhaps a server side bug that's silently downloading the app on any device that's installed it previously?
donkey_brains2 hours ago
But why this one specific app and no others?
altairprime6 minutes ago
[delayed]
layer822 minutes ago
Maybe it’s Apple’s equivalent of Guru Meditation.
_-x-_op2 hours ago
Right, that's what confuses me the most. I was very surprised to find the reddit thread showing that other people are also having this specific app silently installed on their devices.
breppp43 minutes ago
Headspace leaves health data, that's where my first guess would be
aaron695an hour ago
[dead]
aaronbrethorstan hour ago
I wonder if U2, or Bono, has taken a significant stake in Headspace recently (kidding).
dagmx7 minutes ago
I’m curious if everyone experiencing this is on 26.4.2? It came out 4 days ago according to Wikipedia…it would make sense that it lines up with when people are seeing it start.
I’m on the 26.5 beta and not seeing it at all.
yokuze2 hours ago
Do you have Settings > Apps > App Store > (Automatic Downloads) App Downloads turned on?
I noticed apps appearing on my Home Screen I’d never heard of before. Turns out with that setting and Family Purchase sharing turned on, every time my wife installed a new app, it installed on my phone too.
That may not be your exact scenario, but I wonder if turning off that Automatic App Downloads setting (if enabled) changes anything. Could give you a clue, if so.
_-x-_op2 hours ago
App Downloads and App Updates are both turned off. I don't have anyone else's devices on my account, just me. Thank you for the suggestions though!
ddxv22 minutes ago
If anyone wants to browse some of the SDKs in headspace:
https://appgoblin.info/apps/493145008/sdks
I see normal development and tracking SDKs. If anyone sees something interesting let me know.
1659447091an hour ago
Do you use iCloud drive?
This might be a stretch as I am taking a guess at the implementation, but apps can sync with iCloud Drive and I keep getting app folders showing up after telling it not sync but the prefs reset after certain states(not quite sure when/how)-- it then creates a new sync folder when interacting with the app again. (after having turned off sync and deleting the folder -- once it resets)
I am wondering if that app had that feature (icloud drive syncing) and something of the reverse is happening. Where you have a document still on icloud drive from when you installed the app. Maybe there is some action or state change going on after interacting with drive on a mac or something similar. And now it's created the right circumstances for icloud drive to try and sync the file but there is no app on any device so it downloads the app instead since it's missing and there is some dangling file looking for its home.
_-x-_opan hour ago
It still doesn't make sense why the app started silently downloading itself 3 days ago when I haven't had it installed in over a year. I do use iCloud drive but do not see anything related to the app inside of it.
1659447091an hour ago
Did you update iOS before it started happening? Wondering if they may have introduced a regression that is now trying to re-sync everything after the last update (sync files may be hidden, I set files to always show)
_-x-_op31 minutes ago
I updated after noticing the issue
COFyumo2 hours ago
I have the same exact thing happening. I deleted the app a few days ago when was surprised to see it in my app list.
I had previously downloaded the app but and removed it because I never used it. A few days ago I noticed the app when browsing through my app list and thought maybe I didnt delete it properly, so I made sure to delete it. Then this morning my iPhone updated software versions and I found he Headpsace app again on my home, except this time it was grayed out and waiting for me to go on wifi to download.
I just deleted it again but am equally dumbfounded
_-x-_opan hour ago
That's interesting that it still showed up on your homescreen despite not being able to download
altairprimean hour ago
The iOS reviews for the app also confirm this story affecting others.
janstice4 hours ago
Is your phone connected to some work mobile device management? I could imagine someone has a jinxed Jamf or intune rule that is pushing things out.
_-x-_op3 hours ago
No, this is my personal device. It has never been connected to any MDM.
Schiendelman3 hours ago
Have you actually checked your device management settings?
_-x-_op3 hours ago
Yes. In Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, it says 'Sign in to Work or School Account'. Is there a different device management setting that I should be looking at?
Schiendelman2 hours ago
That's the one. I was worried you might have something you didn't know about!
teruakohatu3 hours ago
Yes, there are alt app stores that try to get you to agree to installing a MDM
a34729t2 hours ago
I would call Apple support; you might even get an engineer call you back. I am sure they would love to know what the hell is going on.
k3104 hours ago
Did you ever install it, or Ginger?
An app store search also turned up "Headspace Care" (Ginger)
Ginger is now Headspace Care
It would be beyond malware for an app to install itself, since there's that app store hurdle to leap. (IMO)
_-x-_op3 hours ago
I installed the app in March of last year, and then deleted it the same day because I didn't want to pay for the subscription
bastawhizan hour ago
Do you have MDM enabled on your device? Does your company offer Headspace as a perk and some arcane set of sketchy business agreements led to auto install policy in your company's MDM solution?
_-x-_opan hour ago
No MDM installed
nkotov26 minutes ago
Had this happen as well. I haven’t used Headspace in years. Randomly had the app appear on Home Screen.
con43 minutes ago
Just checked and it also installed itself on my phone. iPhone 17 Pro, non-US App Store, on latest iOS beta, no MDM. Sounds like an Apple Store bug to me.
DavideNLan hour ago
@_-x-_: "Settings > App Store > Show Install Confirmations > On".
Maybe that helps?
garyfirestorm19 minutes ago
This setting does not exist on iOS 26.4.1
rglover4 hours ago
If you've ever installed any companion app on your desktop macOS, your phone will try to sync apps (I think the same with Apple TV). Caught me off guard a few times.
_-x-_op3 hours ago
No, I've never downloaded it on my desktop. It appears that I downloaded it onto my phone over a year ago (I got an email in my inbox), but didn't want to pay for it so I deleted it.
NetOpWibby35 minutes ago
_Severance intensifies_
treexs2 hours ago
this is the plot of Persona 5
rootsudo2 hours ago
He can be the joker we need.
efilifean hour ago
how heavy of a spoiler is this? I wanted to play it
makeitdouble12 minutes ago
It's covered in the first 10~20min or so of the game, and is really a minor side point.
Off topic, put P5 as a game doesn't really care about spoilers much, there is one specific story telling gimmick that will screw with you if you're really sensitive to these kind of things.
applfanboysbgon44 minutes ago
It's not really a spoiler. It is something that happens near the beginning of the game.
diegoperini21 minutes ago
If I am not mistaken, it's even shown in the marketing materials to build suspense.
mandeepj4 hours ago
How did you find that? Any notification?
_-x-_op4 hours ago
It just appears on my homescreen
csomar19 minutes ago
> Does anyone understand how or why this is happening?
They are drowning in tech debt. Here are two main issues I have with my iPhone/iOS: I can't search for the telegram app. It doesn't show up. It shows fine on the iPad. Also just a few minutes ago, app search decided not to work. I usually use it to pull my Wallet to pull my card. It was an awkward moment as I had no idea where the wallet app actually is.
I have lost count of the minor polish issues. The experience has degraded so much that you no longer care.
psynixx5 hours ago
I’ve been getting this too, same app same behaviour… Anyone been able to figure out what is causing this?
_-x-_op3 hours ago
Have you downloaded the app before?
meloyc2 hours ago
jailbreak phone?
_-x-_opan hour ago
Negative
[deleted]3 hours agocollapsed
throwaway54654 hours ago
Maybe a competitor is trying to FUD them?
[deleted]28 minutes agocollapsed
_-x-_op3 hours ago
I would imagine that this isn't (or at least shouldn't be) possible based on Apple's security. The app is automatically downloading to my phone without my permission.
xinji-standard3 hours ago
[dead]
lovich2 hours ago
[flagged]
anon848736282 hours ago
At least they're exposing their nefarious plans for the purposes of... Offering people mental healthcare?
It's probably just some Apple bug.
lovichan hour ago
Why did a mental healthcare company have the ability to exploit this?
Do you think they accidentally found this 5 seconds before their exploit was launched or do you think they might have actually put some effort into doing this since they are an organization of people.
kennywinker38 minutes ago
I am pretty skeptical it’s intentional. Very risky move. If they make apple look bad they can say goodbye to getting featured in the app store, or could even get pulled from the store completely.
I can see a fucked up ceo greenlighting a trick to get their app installed on your phone without asking. I can’t really see them having it repeatedly download.
I suspect it’s a bug, or worst case a backdoor that’s been triggered with a commercial app instead of spyware accidentally or “accidentally”.
altairprime24 minutes ago
I cannot possibly imagine the company as a whole would approve of this, much less anyone at the company who wants to keep their job. If it’s found that they exploited Apple to cause this, Apple might force-remove their app worldwide and definitely will kill their developer account pending any lawsuits. That’s the sort of thing that gets a CMO fired. Seems extremely unlikely, but if their C_O gets fired on Monday or Friday, then we’ll probably know why :D
firecall39 minutes ago
> The fact that it’s happening shows that they always had the ability...
That may not be the case here, and certainly isn't the assumption we can make more generally.
We regularly see regressions in platform security.
lovich2 hours ago
[flagged]
slater2 hours ago
Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading.
lovichan hour ago
When this forum handles the bot and propaganda problem I might consider those rules.
Currently we are inundated by accounts who don’t give a shit and make a new automatically 3 seconds after their flagging.
As long as those accounts are allowed I don’t really care for the stated rules that aren’t actually enforced.