Hyderabad: Apple has dropped a lawsuit against its former engineer Andrew Aude. The iOS engineer was accused of releasing confidential information to journalists, who then published a news report on the Journal app, which wasn't released at the time. He is also said to be the source behind leaked details related to Apple's development of -products within the spatial computing space (Vision Pro).
The company filed a case against the engineer in March 2024, alleging that Aude shared the company secrets with journalists, including details about a half-dozen different Apple policies and products, including Vision Pro. However, the case has been dismissed following a settlement agreement between Apple and Aude, as indicated by a court filing on February 6, 2025.
Following the resolution, the engineer took to X (formerly Twitter) to express regret over his actions, calling it a "profound and expensive mistake". He also acknowledged the leak damaging his career as a software engineer and ruining the professional relationships he spent years building. He wrote on X:
I spent nearly eight years as a software engineer at Apple. During that time, I was given access to sensitive internal Apple information, including what were then unreleased products and features. But instead of keeping this information secret, I made the mistake of sharing this information with journalists who covered the company.
I did not realize it at the time, but this turned out to be a profound and expensive mistake. Hundreds of professional relationships I had spent years building were ruined. And my otherwise successful career as a software engineer was derailed, and it will likely be very difficult to rebuild it.
Leaking was not worth it. I sincerely apologize to my former colleagues who not only worked tirelessly on projects for Apple but work hard to keep them secret. They deserved better.
Apple has a long-standing reputation for protecting its trade secrets and pursuing legal action over leaks. In the past, the Cupertino-based tech giant took legal steps against employees, supply chain workers, and even bloggers who exposed unreleased products or internal policies.
