Apple scrubs iTunes social media accounts amid rumors its shutting down the service

Business Insider

• Facebook and Instagram pages for Apple's iTunes service were scrubbed on Saturday amid reports the tech giant is shuttering the 18-year-old service.
• According to a Mac Rumors report, the content was scrubbed over the last 48 hours since cached versions of the accounts still show posts, photos, and videos as of May 31. Content from the iTunes Facebook and Instagram pages have been moved over to newer pages for Apple TV.
• Bloomberg reported on Friday that Apple will announce the end of iTunes alongside an update to its MacOS operating system at its annual developer conference on Monday.
• Apple will reportedly announce three new Mac apps that users can use to access their music, TV shows and movies, and podcasts.
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Evidence is mounting that Apple is planning to shutter iTunes after more than 18 years of service.

On Saturday, Mac Rumors reported the Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with iTunes were scrubbed and content was migrated over to pages for the tech giant's Apple TV service. All accounts are still live as of press time, but follower counts, videos, posts, and other content have all been removed.

Business Insider

The move follows a Bloomberg report on Friday that said Apple was planning to announce the end of iTunes at its annual developer conference that takes place Monday. Alongside an update to its MacOS operating system, Apple will reportedly announce three new Mac apps that users can use to access their music, TV shows, movies, and podcasts, all of which currently exist on the company's iPhones and iPads.

Read More: Apple is reportedly set to finally ditch iTunes with the next big update to the Mac operating system

Friday's Bloomberg report also said that without iTunes, Mac users will manage their devices through the Music app moving forward.

There are reports on Twitter that some itunes.apple.com links for songs and artists now redirect to music.apple.com. It was also reported that Apple is in the process of changing iTunes links for apps, podcasts, TV shows, movies, and books, instead using category-specific links such as apps.apple.com, podcasts.apple.com, tv.apple.com, movies.apple.com, and books.apple.com.