3 ms·

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 previou

by _-x-_ 5mo 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_brains 5mo ago
But why this one specific app and no others?
- _-x-_ 5mo 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.
  - dd8601fn 5mo ago
    Makes me think something got jacked up adding/removing things from promotional bundles with other apps. It shouldn’t do that, obviously, but headspace does seem like it’s one that bundles “free” with a bunch of health insurance, education, etc. From a debugging perspective, without having Apples information, I kinda want to know if all affected users have some related health or education apps.
- breppp 5mo ago
  Headspace leaves health data, that's where my first guess would be
- layer8 5mo ago
  Maybe it’s Apple’s equivalent of Guru Meditation.
- altairprime 5mo ago
  Maybe Apple typo’d an app id incorrectly for some iOS core app thing in 26.4.2 and the one-character error is this app? I don’t know that anyone’s done a ‘likelihood of collision’ analysis on appstore unique IDs yet. Certainly I could see iOS having a “must be on the device” system set up for apps like Phone and Settings that has a last-ditch of reinstalling it if somehow deleted. Would be especially interesting if some core app that can’t normally be deleted is currently unprotected (back up your device locally first!).
- wincy 5mo ago
  Maybe it’s like that time Apple thought everyone wanted that awful free U2 album that they automatically added to everyone’s iTunes library. (I know this isn’t actually the case but it’s the funniest explanation)
  - theowaway 5mo ago
    that fucking thing still shows up on my phone from time to time. It's aural herpes
    - trinsic2 5mo ago
      I use VLC for my music. Did you know if you uninstall the music app you can't play music though another music app?
      - archon810 5mo ago
        Is this really true, I presume on iPhones? As an Android user, this sounds insane to me.
        trinsic2 5mo ago
        On my Iphone. I removed the music app. and was unable to play music in my car with the usb interface. It had no app to play from. VLC must use the music player in some way to play the audio. This is without carplay btw. Im pretty sure carplay is differnt.
        DANmode 5mo ago
        Chrome for iPhone is also only allowed to be reskinned Safari. It’s a locked-down platform - slightly less so if you’re in the EU.
- mattmaroon 5mo ago
  Can’t be sure it isn’t others. This a very large app, so it may just be the one that gets noticed the most.
- trinsic2 5mo ago
  Maybe this is not the same thing but I had this happen to me with the ticktock app. It installed by itself. The only difference I can see between this situation and my own is I'm positive I never installed this app because I never used it. It only happened one time though. After I uninstalled it, it never came back.

by _-x-_ 5mo 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_brains 5mo ago

But why this one specific app and no others?

_-x-_ 5mo 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.
- dd8601fn 5mo ago
  Makes me think something got jacked up adding/removing things from promotional bundles with other apps. It shouldn’t do that, obviously, but headspace does seem like it’s one that bundles “free” with a bunch of health insurance, education, etc. From a debugging perspective, without having Apples information, I kinda want to know if all affected users have some related health or education apps.
breppp 5mo ago
Headspace leaves health data, that's where my first guess would be
layer8 5mo ago
Maybe it’s Apple’s equivalent of Guru Meditation.
altairprime 5mo ago
Maybe Apple typo’d an app id incorrectly for some iOS core app thing in 26.4.2 and the one-character error is this app? I don’t know that anyone’s done a ‘likelihood of collision’ analysis on appstore unique IDs yet. Certainly I could see iOS having a “must be on the device” system set up for apps like Phone and Settings that has a last-ditch of reinstalling it if somehow deleted. Would be especially interesting if some core app that can’t normally be deleted is currently unprotected (back up your device locally first!).
wincy 5mo ago
Maybe it’s like that time Apple thought everyone wanted that awful free U2 album that they automatically added to everyone’s iTunes library. (I know this isn’t actually the case but it’s the funniest explanation)
- theowaway 5mo ago
  that fucking thing still shows up on my phone from time to time. It's aural herpes
  - trinsic2 5mo ago
    I use VLC for my music. Did you know if you uninstall the music app you can't play music though another music app?
    - archon810 5mo ago
      Is this really true, I presume on iPhones? As an Android user, this sounds insane to me.
      - trinsic2 5mo ago
        On my Iphone. I removed the music app. and was unable to play music in my car with the usb interface. It had no app to play from. VLC must use the music player in some way to play the audio. This is without carplay btw. Im pretty sure carplay is differnt.
        DANmode 5mo ago
        Chrome for iPhone is also only allowed to be reskinned Safari. It’s a locked-down platform - slightly less so if you’re in the EU.
mattmaroon 5mo ago
Can’t be sure it isn’t others. This a very large app, so it may just be the one that gets noticed the most.
trinsic2 5mo ago
Maybe this is not the same thing but I had this happen to me with the ticktock app. It installed by itself. The only difference I can see between this situation and my own is I'm positive I never installed this app because I never used it. It only happened one time though. After I uninstalled it, it never came back.