Apple Sues Leaker Jon Prosser For Allegedly Stealing Ios 26 Info From An Employee

Apple is suing leaker Jon Prosser and a codefendant for misappropriation of waste and acquisition secrets related to YouTube videos from earlier this twelvemonth that depicted mockups of iOS 26 (which was, astatine nan time, expected to beryllium called iOS 19). In nan suit, which Apple revenge astatine a territory tribunal successful nan Northern District of California, nan institution claims Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti "conspired to break into an Apple employee’s improvement iPhone to return Apple’s waste and acquisition secrets."

Per nan filing, which was obtained by MacRumors, Prosser had promised to "find retired a measurement for [Ramacciotti] to get payment" if his codefendant was capable to entree nan improvement iPhone of his friend Ethan Lipnik, who worked connected package designs astatine Apple. Apple claims Ramacciotti was staying pinch Lipnik and waited until he near for an extended play of time, utilizing a location-tracking instrumentality to make judge of that. Ramacciotti is said to person gained entree to nan iPhone and made a FaceTime telephone to Prosser to show features and designs from iOS 26.

Prosser allegedly utilized a surface capturing instrumentality to grounds nan video telephone and past shared nan footage pinch others successful bid to create mockups he utilized successful his videos (Prosser has said that Apple uses identifiers successful in-development versions of its package to thief it pinpoint leakers, and recreating nan renders is intended to protect them). One of those group who saw nan footage is said to person recognized Lipnik’s flat and to person informed him of that.

In January, Prosser published a video connected his Front Page Tech YouTube transmission depicting a render of an iOS 26 Camera app redesign that looked comparatively adjacent to nan existent deal. He later showed disconnected mockups of nan redesigned Messages app and nan Liquid Glass creation connection Apple is switching to this year.

Apple terminated Lipnik’s employment for failing to protect confidential information. Per nan suit, Lipnik said that Ramacciotti "often spent clip astatine his home, sometimes staying for nan weekend, and watching his patterns and information protocols for his devices." Apple says it discovered nan alleged waste and acquisition concealed theft from an anonymous extremity and that it besides has a sound statement that Ramacciotti sent to Lipnik to apologize and declare that Prosser was down nan scheme.

The institution claims nan improvement iPhone successful mobility hosted a "significant magnitude of further Apple waste and acquisition concealed accusation that has not yet been publically disclosed. It added that it does not cognize really overmuch of this accusation Prosser and Ramacciotti obtained.

Apple is seeking an injunction directing Prosser and Ramacciotti "not to make usage of aliases disclose Apple’s confidential, proprietary and waste and acquisition concealed accusation to 3rd parties without its written consent" and to destruct immoderate specified worldly they possess. The institution is besides seeking damages and is requesting a assemblage trial.

Prosser responded to nan suit on X, claiming that "This is not really things went down connected my end. Looking guardant to being capable to speak to Apple astir it." Prosser followed up by saying, "For nan record: I surely did not 'plot' to entree anyone’s telephone and was unaware of nan business playing out."

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