Apple Sues Former Employee for Sharing iPhone App Information

Apple has filed lawsuits against Andrew Aude, one of its former workers, claiming that he violated labor rules and confidentiality agreements. The case, which was filed in a state court in California, charges Aude of giving the media and other tech companies sensitive information about Apple’s initiatives, including specifics on the Journal app for the iPhone. The IT giant has asked for a jury trial to resolve the issue and is seeking damages surpassing $25,000.

Aude, who was employed at Apple from 2016 to 2017, is said to have had access to privileged knowledge on a number of sensitive projects when he was an iOS software developer. Aude is accused of using his work iPhone for more than five years to provide information about different Apple products and internal procedures. These disclosures included 9To5’s strategic and regulatory information as well as previously revealed goods including the Journal app and Vision Pro headset.

According to the complaint, in April 2023, Aude reportedly gave a Wall Street Journal writer access to the iPhone Journal app’s finished features. Through the use of Signal, an encrypted messaging software, Aude had a lengthy conversation in which she revealed private information. Furthermore, he is charged with disclosing information to a non-Apple employee in October 2020 on Apple’s spatial computing initiatives.

Apple claims that Aude took substantial and purposeful steps to undermine features and products that he disagreed with. The business claims that because of its disclosures, many news stories were published, jeopardizing Apple’s capacity to surprise customers with new goods.

It is said that Aude tried to hide his wrongdoing by erasing evidence from his work iPhone, which included the communication program Signal. The decision to take legal action was apparently prompted by Aude’s alleged refusal to fully comply, despite Apple’s efforts to settle the issue outside of court.

As a reaction, Aude has chosen not to liquidate the restricted Apple stock units that were a component of his benefits package. Apple claims that Aude’s continuous connections to journalists and people at other tech businesses are a continuous danger to the company’s privacy.

In response to its former employee’s claimed violation of confidentially, Apple is pursuing compensatory and punitive damages in addition to other legal remedies in the current dispute.