iTMS
Apple operates iTMS, listed among the special crawlers for Apple online properties. Apple says it only crawls URLs associated with registered content on Apple Podcasts and does not follow robots.txt, because it is not a general search crawler. Apple says the traffic may come from applebot.apple.com hosts, so the Applebot reverse DNS check applies; no dedicated IP list is documented.
iTMSWhat iTMS does
The user agent is the bare string "iTMS", without a Mozilla prefix or a version number. Apple lists it under "Special crawlers - Apple online properties" on its Applebot support page and says the traffic may come from applebot.apple.com hosts. Apple restricts its scope to URLs associated with registered content on Apple Podcasts, so a site that hosts no registered podcast content should not expect to see it. Apple does not describe request frequency or JavaScript execution for this user agent.
Because the crawler is tied to registered Apple Podcasts content, allowing it keeps that registered content reachable by Apple. There is no robots.txt token to allow or deny. Apple states that iTMS does not follow robots.txt, as it is not a general search crawler, so a Disallow rule has no effect on it. A site owner who wants to stop the traffic cannot rely on robots.txt and would need a server-level rule; Apple's crawler page does not describe any other opt-out.
Verification is indirect. Apple's only pointer is that the traffic may come from applebot.apple.com hosts, so the reverse DNS check documented for Applebot, a host ending in .applebot.apple.com, is the check to apply. Apple does not state whether the Applebot IP address JSON also covers iTMS traffic, and no dedicated IP range file is documented for iTMS. Treat any iTMS request from a host outside that suffix as unverified.
Operator note. Apple states: 'The iTMS user agent does not follow robots.txt, as it is not a general search crawler.' It is scoped to registered Apple Podcasts content rather than general web crawling. Apple does not explicitly state whether the Applebot IP range file covers iTMS traffic.
Controlling iTMS with robots.txt
Use the token none (does not follow robots.txt) in robots.txt. Apple documents that this fetcher does not consult robots.txt, so a robots rule will not stop it; see the operator note.
User-agent: none (does not follow robots.txt)
Disallow: /User-agent: none (does not follow robots.txt)
Allow: /Verifying a request is really iTMS
Anyone can put iTMS in a User-Agent header. Apple says iTMS traffic 'may come from applebot.apple.com hosts', so the Applebot reverse-DNS check applies to that traffic. No dedicated IP range file is documented for iTMS.
host <request-ip>
# expect a hostname ending in .applebot.apple.com
host <that-hostname>
# expect it to resolve back to <request-ip>Common questions
Should I block iTMS?
Apple scopes iTMS to URLs associated with registered content on Apple Podcasts, so blocking it affects only that content's availability to Apple. Since it ignores robots.txt, blocking means a server-level rule matched on the "iTMS" user agent or on verified hosts. Sites without registered podcast content should not expect it at all, per Apple's description.
Does iTMS follow robots.txt?
No. Apple states that the iTMS user agent does not follow robots.txt because it is not a general search crawler. There is no token to place in robots.txt; any rule you write for it is ignored.
How do I verify iTMS?
Apple says the traffic may come from applebot.apple.com hosts, so run a reverse DNS lookup on the IP and confirm the host ends in .applebot.apple.com. Apple does not publish a separate IP list for iTMS and does not say whether the Applebot IP JSON covers it.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against Apple's own documentation, listed below, and re-checked by a second reviewer before publication. Reviewed September 2026.
Related crawlers
This registry documents how operators describe their own bots so site owners can identify and control them. It does not publish third-party IP lists or guess at undocumented behaviour. To see how your own site responds to automated visitors, the bot detection scanner reads a URL's live response and names the protection it finds.