Is Apple ethical?
Our research highlights several ethical issues with Apple. It scores poorly in several of our categories, including digital privacy, military links, company ethos, tax conduct and others.
Below we outline of some of these issues. To see the full detailed stories, and Apple's overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe.
Poor rating for digital privacy
Apple uses personal user data for targeted advertising and marketing which it admits to in its Advertising and Privacy Policy. This is a privacy issue because it is influencing what users see and engage with.
Apple provides multiple services connected to a single user account, such as email, cloud storage, music streaming etc. This is considered a privacy issue because data from different services can be combined across contexts (e.g. search, location, messaging), enabling the creation of comprehensive user profiles.
Apple says that it is not using personal data to train its ‘foundational AI models’.
Apple was fined $95 million (£70m) in 2025 for recording users’ conversations and disclosing them to third parties, such as advertisers.
Apple's military links
The iPhone and the iPad became the first consumer devices approved for use with classified information in high security NATO environments, according to a press release on Apple’s website, published in February 2026.
In the Gaza strip, at the request of the Israeli military, Apple disabled live traffic conditions for its maps, ahead of a potential ground invasion, reported Bloomberg in 2023.
Apple acquired the Israeli AI startup Q.ai for nearly $2 billion in January 2026. The startup was founded by some of Israel’s most elite veterans in cyber-warfare units. The acquisition was criticised by Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR) for buying technology that was "forged in an environment of mass surveillance and genocide". SIHR defends digital freedoms across Southwest Asia & North Africa by documenting online abuses and by holding governments and technology companies accountable.
Apple's tech sustainability
Ethical Consumer's rating looks at repairability, warranty length and the amount of recycled materials used.
Apple scored poorly but not zero, as it claimed to have “the highest-ever use of recycled content” with nearly 20% of all materials used being recycled. However, its repairability and warranty offers were found wanting.
Artist compensation
For our music streaming guide we rated companies for their approach to artist compensation.
Apple’s iTunes site does not have a more equitable model than the industry standard and it doesn’t pay more to artists than industry norms on a market share basis.
Supply chain workers for Apple
Migrant people are subjected to appalling treatment in Apple factories based in China and India. Reports by The New York Times and Scroll in 2023 and 2024 respectively focus on the vulnerable group of rural to urban migrants and detail unacceptable conditions.
The abuse at the Indian factory includes: restricted freedom of movement, substandard living conditions; restricted freedom of expression and isolation, and excessive production targets, among other issues. It is also claimed that migrant workers’ dormitories are designed to prevent unionisation and they are heavily guarded so activists are unable to contact the workers.
In China, a worker claimed that “because of the demand of Apple’s newest iPhone” he was required to work very long hours and worked without a day off across two weeks. He described no prospect of retirement for migrants and a lack of access to benefits when out of work.
Apple has some policies to protect workers’ rights but it doesn’t appear to adhere to it.
Conflict minerals in mobile phones
Apple came under fire when, in 2024, it was accused of using conflict minerals. Conflict minerals – tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold, and increasingly cobalt – are needed in electric goods such as mobile phones. They are typically mined in parts of the DRC that are controlled by paramilitary groups.
Acting on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lawyers filed criminal complaints against subsidiaries of the tech giant.
Apple has a strong conflict mineral policy, thorough annual reporting and it “strongly disputed the claims” saying it was "deeply committed to responsible sourcing" of minerals.
Apple's climate change policies and actions
Apple removed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria from its metrics used to determine executive pay packages, reported Bloomberg in 2026. This appears to be part of a larger trend where companies reduce or completely drop ESG links to executive pay. Previously, Apple executives’ bonus was linked to meeting certain environmental or social criteria such as greenhouse gas reductions and renewable energy use among suppliers. If these targets were not met, they wouldn't get the full potential of their bonus. By getting rid of these provisions the company also removed direct financial accountability that may have pushed top leaders to meet climate and sustainability goals.
Apple was also sued by consumers who had said that the company’s claim that some of its Apple Watches are "carbon neutral" were false and misleading. Reuters reported that in its statement regarding the lawsuit Apple did not discuss the case but defended its environmental record.
Despite these factors, Apple scores relatively well for climate change as it reports all of its emissions, it has adequate targets and it has achieved a total 60% greenhouse gas emission reduction since 2015, including a 50% cut in emissions associated with manufacturing. It also says that it is pushing its suppliers to transition to renewable energy and to using more recycled materials.
Tax conduct
We have identified significant Apple subsidiaries located in tax havens, such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Singapore. It is likely that these subsidiaries are used for tax avoidance purposes.
Furthermore, The Guardian reported that “Seven of the biggest US-headquartered tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet, are estimated to have paid £750m in UK corporation tax and the digital sales tax, compared with £2.8bn in estimated tax due had profits not been routed elsewhere, according to TaxWatch, a campaign group”.
In 2024 Apple lost an eight year long legal battle to the Irish government and was forced to pay 13 billion on European profits.
Company ethos
While Apple funnels its revenue to tax havens and migrant workers in its factories have no prospect of retiring, the company’s CEO was paid $74,609,802 (about £56 million) in 2024.
The research on Apple was conducted in spring 2026 and the text written summer 2026.