TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Apple has sued a leaker named Jon Prosser and his associate, Michael Ramacciotti, for allegedly stealing the trade secrets of the iOS 26 operating system. Prosser is accused of instructing Ramacciotti to secretly access an iPhone being developed by an Apple employee in the iOS division named Ethan Lipnik.
Citing The Verge, Apple alleges that Prosser offered Ramacciotti a monetary benefit or future job prospects. In return, Prosser would gain access to Lipnik's iPhone, who happens to be Ramacciotti's friend.
Data was obtained while Ramacciotti was staying at Lipnik's house, as Ramacciotti also knew his friend's phone passcode.
"Ramacciotti allegedly learnt Lipnik’s iPhone passcode, used 'location-tracking' to determine when he’d be away from home for an extended period, and then accessed the iPhone running a development version of the mobile OS," quoted from The Verge published on Friday, July 18, 2025.
Apple has sued both of them for alleged misuse of trade secrets under the Trade Secrets Act, as well as violation of the Fraud and Computer Abuse Act, applicable in the United States.
Prior to this, on April 4, 2025, Apple received an anonymous email informing them of a leak of iOS 19, also known as iOS 26. The email contained links to content from Jon Prosser's YouTube channel, featuring a review of the unreleased iOS 26.
The message indicated a video call between Prosser and allegedly Lipnik or his friend, Ramacciotti, demonstrating details on the lock screen, home page, app animations, and app interfaces on a phone. The video call occurred several months before the email was sent.
The company also claims to have a voicemail from Ramacciotti apologizing for the issue and claiming that Prosser came up with the deception, which Lipnik then handed over to Apple. "Lipnik was fired by Apple for failing to properly follow its policies around securing unreleased software," wrote The Verge.
In its lawsuit, Apple seeks damages and a court order prohibiting Prosser from disclosing Apple's trade secrets in the future. Although iOS 26 has been announced to the public, its secrets are still at risk because the phone being developed still contains other unreleased design elements.
In response to the lawsuit, Jon Prosser denies Apple's allegations of conspiring to access anyone's phone. He claims that he does not have the password and does not know how to obtain it. On Friday, July 18, 2026, on his X social media, Prosser said he looks forward to discussing the case with Apple.
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