Apple is dragging an ex-employee to California’s state court for allegedly spilling the beans on more than a half-dozen confidential pieces of information, including about the iPhone’s Journal app, and Apple’s first AR/VR device, the Apple Vision Pro to journalists and executives working at another company. According to the company, Andrew Aude leaked the confidential to take down or “kill” products and features he didn’t like.
According to the lawsuit, the person in question chatted with a Wall Street Journal reporter a bunch of times and revealed some top secrets about the development going on at work. Surprisingly, WSJ published a similar story in the same month, over a year ago, titled, “Apple Plans iPhone Journaling App in Expansion of Health Initiatives” which allegedly included the features leaked by the ex-employee. In addition, he’s also said to have reached out to other journalists, such as one working for The Independent, across the nation to reveal more information.
Apple says that it is a violation of the labor laws and that his actions were “extensive and purposeful. It wants to proceed with a jury trial and seeks a big payout of $25,000 with an additional promise to remain tight-lipped about more information.
Aude joined Apple right after graduating from college in 2016, and the company alleges that he spent five years leaking information about more than a half-dozen Apple’s decisions and products. Similarly, the formal lawsuit also unveiled the alleged screenshots of the former worker and journalist talking to each other using the encrypted messaging app Signal, with over 1,400 messages. He’s also accused of bombarding the journalist at The Information with over 10,000 text messages, plus crossing seas to meet her. These tips include the widely shared stories about Apple’s decision to restrict the use of ChatGPT.
When Apple sensed something was wrong, the company approached the now-former employees in November 2023, but Aude denied leaking confidential information to anyone. However, during that interview, Apple alleges that Aude went to the bathroom and deleted “significant amounts of evidence” from his work iPhone, including the Signal app he used to communicate with.
During a follow-up interview in December 2023, Apple alleges that Aude admitted to some of his wrongful disclosures, but claims he only provided “narrow admissions limited to the information he had not been able to destroy.”Aude has also allegedly refused to divest the restricted Apple stock units he received as part of his compensation package.
Apple said that Aude poses an “ongoing threat” to the company due to his “long and extensive history of disclosing [confidential information] to third parties intentionally and without authorization, his continued relationships with individuals at other technology companies, and journalists, and his attempts to conceal his misconduct.”
That said, the official complaint mentions three charges: Breach of Contract, Breach of Duty of Loyalty, Breach of Contract (RSU Agreement), and demands for a jury trial with the demanded amount exceeding $25,000.