Apple’s lawsuit against a former engineer for leaking its secrets to the press was dismissed, and he publicly apologized.
Andre Aude joined Apple in 2016 after graduating college as an iOS software engineer working on optimizing battery performance. He also leaked Apple’s secrets to the press and got sued after being caught.
9to5Mac reports that the Superior Court of Santa Clara County has dismissed the lawsuit because the two parties reached an agreement, the details of which are not available in court documents. The settlement probably includes an admission of wrongdoing and a public apology that Aude posted on X, formerly Twitter.The whole story is a fascinating example of how damaging these leaks are to Apple. They ruin the element of surprise even though the tech press jumps on them because readers like to read about unannounced Apple products. More so, it gives us unprecedented insight into how Apple handles leakers.
Leaker calls his leaks a “profound and expensive mistake”
Here’s Aude’s full apology:
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.
Expensive for whom, Apple or you?
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.
I’m not buying this disingenuous apology because his past conduct paints a picture of a person who deliberately wanted to harm Apple.
How Aude leaked the Journal app
The full complaint, available as a PDF file courtesy of MacRumors, alleged that the nature of Aude’s job made him “privy to information regarding dozens of Apple’s most sensitive projects.” Over the next five years, Aude diligently leaked about half a dozen projects that were not known at the time to big media journalists.
For example, he leaked information about the Vision Pro headset and the Journal app, including corporate secrets like employee headcount, Apple’s regulatory compliance moves, etc. Shortly after, Aaron Tilley at The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the Journal app under the headline “Apple Plans iPhone Journaling App in Expansion of Health Initiatives.”
He wasn’t cautious, using his Apple-issued iPhone to communicate with journalists. He sent over 1400 messages to Tilley (referred to as “Homeboy” in chats). When Tilley messaged Aude telling him his story about the Journal app will go live tomorrow, Aude responded by saying, “Can’t wait for chaos to break out before Apple corporate people even wake up,” according to a screenshot included in the lawsuit.
“Mr. Aude often took and saved screenshots of his communications on his Apple-issued work iPhone to preserve them for posterity,” the lawsuit alleges.
Leaking Vision Pro to The Information
He also leaked Vision Pro’s spatial computing software:
As another example, an October 2020 screenshot on Mr. Aude’s Apple-issued work iPhone shows that he disclosed Apple’s development of products within the spatial computing space to a non-Apple employee. Mr. Aude made this disclosure even though Apple’s development efforts were confidential and not known to the public. Over the following months, Mr. Aude disclosed additional Apple confidential information—including information concerning unannounced products, and hardware information.
Aude sent more than 10000 messages to a journalist at the website The Information, which published a lot of Vision Pro scoops like this one. His primary motivation for leaking was apparently to “kill” products he didn’t like for vanity and other reasons, Apple’s legal sharks alleged in the complaint.
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…
— Andy Aude (@andyaude1) February 6, 2025
Apple terminated Aude’s employee agreement after learning of his conduct in late 2023. He initially denied any wrongdoing during an interview with Apple’s corporate police, at one point asking to use the bathroom to delete “significant amounts of evidence” from his work-issued, including the encrypted Signal app he used to communicate with The Wall Street Journal journalist.
Apple drags Aude to court
Aude was not receptive to resolving the matter out of court:
From the filing:
Mr Aude’s pattern of disclosing Apple’s highly sensitive information to others-wantonly, without regard for his legal or contractual obligations, and for the specific purpose of harming Apple-and his ongoing knowledge of Apple’s confidential and proprietary information creates a significant risk that the disclosure will continue.
And:
Apple does not bring suit against its former employees lightly. As a result of Mr. Aude’s willful destruction of evidence, however, Apple cannot know the universe of what he disclosed to whom and when. Before filing this lawsuit, Apple reached out to Mr. Aude to potentially resolve this matter. Over a month ago, Apple contacted Mr. Aude to understand the full scope of his leaks and ask for his full cooperation in resolving this matter without litigation. Mr. Aude, however, did not commit to cooperating.
A few months later, the company dragged Aude to California state court, seeking damages in excess of $25,000 for violating labor laws and breaching the confidentiality agreement he signed with the company.