Former iOS engineer sued by Apple issues apology as lawsuit is dismissed

Last March, Apple filed a lawsuit against one of its former employees, an iOS Software Engineer who had leaked confidential information to The Wall Street Journal and The Information. Almost a year later, that lawsuit has just been dismissed and the engineer has issued an apology.

Apple leaker revealed details of Journal app, Vision Pro, more

Andrew Aude once worked for Apple as an iOS Software Engineer, and as we reported last year, during his employment he sent thousands of messages to journalists at The Wall Street Journal and The Information containing confidential information.

Aude was clearly the source behind a report detailing Apple’s Journal app before it was released. He also leaked details related to the Vision Pro and “spatial computing,” among other leaks.

In its lawsuit, Apple accused Aude of leaking “information about more than a half-dozen different Apple policies and products.”

But now, per public records the case has just been dismissed following a settlement agreement being reached.

Not so coincidentally, yesterday Aude posted the following apology 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.

The details of the settlement are unknown, but the above apology was likely one stipulation.

For more details on Apple’s leaker lawsuit and Aude’s history, read our original coverage here.

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