- Apple has filed a lawsuit against YouTuber and Apple leaker Jon Prosser, accusing him of misappropriating trade secrets and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
- Prosser allegedly gained access to an unreleased iOS 26 build by paying off a friend of an Apple engineer.
- Using these details, Prosser created mockups and reported as early as January on the upcoming changes in iOS 26.
Well-known Apple leaker and YouTuber Jon Prosser has landed in hot water with Apple. The Cupertino giant is suing the leaker for showcasing a development build of iOS 26 that was later revealed during the WWDC keynote in June.
Apple filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser in the Northern District of California. The company is accusing him of misappropriating trade secrets and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He first leaked the simplified camera UI seen in iOS 26 back in January. This was followed by the redesigned Messages app in March, featuring glass-like elements, which we now know as Liquid Glass.
He further showed off major iOS 26 design changes, including the pill-shaped tabs and other glassy effects, in his video in April. Not everything turned out exactly as Jon suggested, but it could be because his findings came from a development iPhone.
Why is Apple Suing Jon Prosser?
Apple’s lawsuit (Scribd) accuses Jon Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti of coordinating to gain access to Apple engineer Ethan Lipnik’s development iPhone. The iPhone was running an unreleased, under-development version of iOS 26 (earlier known as iOS 19). The lawsuit claims that Prosser promised Ramacciotti, who is a friend of Lipnik, money or a job opportunity in return for accessing the development device.
Ramaccioti, who needed money, accepted the offer and obtained Lipnik’s iPhone passcode. Then, he used location tracking to find out when he “would be gone for an extended period.” Ramcciotti then accessed Lipnik’s development iPhone and initiated a FaceTime call with Prosser to share the unreleased software. It’s alleged that Jon Prosser recorded everything using a screen capture tool.
The recording was shared with others who helped him create mock renders of the upcoming iOS design. Apple also mentions that Lipnik’s iPhone contained a “significant amount of additional Apple trade secret information that has not yet been publicly disclosed”. The company adds that it’s unclear how much of that information may have been accessed by either Prosser or Ramacciotti.
This is why Apple has filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser in the first place. It has already terminated Ethan Lipnik’s employment for failing to follow company policies regarding unreleased devices and software.
Prosser defended himself in a reply to Macrumor’s X post, stating, “For the record: I certainly did not “plot” to access anyone’s phone and was unaware of the situation playing out.” These are all the details we have on the case right now, but we will be following the lawsuit for further updates.
