A new report from Cloudflare has accused AI startup Perplexity of deliberately bypassing website protections to scrape web content, despite being blocked by site owners. This adds to growing concerns about Perplexity’s data practices and could complicate Apple’s rumored plans to acquire the company.
Perplexity has faced accusations since 2024 for ignoring the Robots Exclusion Protocol, a standard that tells automated crawlers which pages not to access. Perplexity previously denied wrongdoing, blaming confusion and claiming its tools simply helped users summarize links they provided.
However, Cloudflare now claims that Perplexity uses undeclared web crawlers that disguise themselves as Google Chrome browsers and rotate through multiple IP addresses to evade blocks. These crawlers reportedly access millions of web pages per day, including from sites that explicitly rejected automated access.
Cloudflare’s report states:
“Perplexity used undeclared bots, impersonated browsers, and rotated IPs to avoid detection — actions that go against accepted web norms.”
Perplexity responded to the claims by calling Cloudflare’s report a “publicity stunt” and dismissed the findings as “misunderstandings.”
The controversy is especially significant now because Apple is reportedly considering acquiring Perplexity as part of its AI push. While Apple hasn’t confirmed the deal, the new allegations may put pressure on the company to rethink the move, given Apple’s strong public stance on privacy and ethical tech practices.
Some analysts believe Apple could reform Perplexity’s behavior under its leadership. Others worry that acquiring a company with such a record may force Apple to compromise its core values.
For now, Perplexity remains under scrutiny, and Apple faces a tough decision: pursue a powerful AI tool with baggage, or walk away to protect its brand.
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