---
schema_version: "newruntime-reader-dossiers-v1"
type: "reader_dossier"
slug: "applebot"
kind: "search"
operator: "Apple"
researched_at: "2026-10-23"
confidence: "high"
json_url: "https://newruntime.com/readers/applebot.json"
canonical_url: "https://newruntime.com/readers/applebot/"
---

# Applebot

> Apple's web crawler; its data powers search features in Spotlight, Siri and Safari and may supply context for AI-generated answers in Apple products. The separate Applebot-Extended token (no crawling of its own) controls whether crawled data may train Apple's foundation models.

## Dossier

- Kind: Search engines
- Operator: Apple (https://www.apple.com/)
- Documentation: https://support.apple.com/en-us/119829
- robots.txt tokens: Applebot, Applebot-Extended
- Feeds: search index, live answer fetch, model training
- Respects robots.txt: Yes, per its documentation. Follows Applebot rules; falls back to Googlebot rules if no Applebot group; ignores crawl-delay. Training opt-out via Applebot-Extended.
- Verification: Published IP ranges and reverse DNS (https://search.developer.apple.com/applebot.json)
- Labels matched in our logs: applebot

## Why it matters to New Runtime (our interpretation)

Applebot reads decide whether our stories surface in Siri/Spotlight/Safari answers, and Applebot-Extended is our lever over Apple model training.

## Observed behaviour

- Baseline 2026-10-23 (93-day window): 4,609 requests on 88 days; first seen 2026-07-24, last seen 2026-10-23; Regular.
- Reading mix (crawler journeys): 415 content reads, 50 feed or discovery reads, 43 machine-consumption reads; 212 unique materials.
- Identity check: verified 503, claimed unverified 2 requests.
- Live numbers: https://newruntime.com/bot-traffic-history.json and https://newruntime.com/crawler-journeys.json

## Sources

- https://support.apple.com/en-us/119829
- https://search.developer.apple.com/applebot.json

Identity: A family name is what a client claims in its user agent. It is verified only when its request came from the operator's published IP ranges or passed forward-confirmed reverse DNS, as reported per family in /crawler-journeys.json. Anyone can claim any name.

All dossiers: https://newruntime.com/readers.md