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?
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
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.
An app store search also turned up "Headspace Care" (Ginger)
It would be beyond malware for an app to install itself, since there's that app store hurdle to leap. (IMO)
And before anyone accuses me of being paranoid, this should have never been possible.
The fact that it’s happening shows that they always had the ability and either made a mistake to show their hand now or stopped giving a shit if we cared.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html