Apple sues Jon Prosser for allegedly breaking into a developmental iPhone to steal trade secrets
FPT's Jon Prosser is one of two men being sued by Apple for allegedly breaking into a developmental iPhone and stealing trade secrets.
You might recall that earlier this year, FTP's Jon Prosser revealed various leaks about the iOS update that was known then as iOS 19 (now known as iOS 26). These leaks included a recreation of the new Camera app. In March, he showed off the Messages app with redesigned buttons. The following month, Presser released a video showing what he called "the most complete build of iOS 19 yet." It had the Liquid Glass look nailed, or, as Prosser called it, "a glassy illusion."
While Prosser didn't get everything right, including the change to the iOS 26 name, he did get enough right that it made Applefile a lawsuit against Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti. Apple alleges that Prosser and Ramacciotti hatched a plan to break into a developmental iPhone owned by Apple employee Ethan Lipnik, a friend of Ramacciotti. \
In its court filing, Apple claims that Prosser and Ramacciotti obtained Lipnik's passcode for the developmental iPhone and used location-tracking to figure out a period of time when Lipnik would be away from the phone for "an extended period." Ramacciotti, who was receiving financial compensation from Prosser for helping him break into Lipnik's phone, went on a FaceTime call with Prosser after he supposedly accessed Lipnik's developmental iPhone.
On that call, Ramacciotti showed Prosser iOS 26 running on Lipnik's developmental iPhone. Using tech to capture the FaceTime call, Prosser now had a video that he shared with others and used it to make recreated renders of iOS 26 for his video.
Apple also claims that Lipnik's iPhone contains a "significant amount of additional Apple trade secret information that has not yet been publicly disclosed." How much of that secret information is in Prosser and Ramacciotti's possession is something that Apple does not know.
Apple v. Ramacciotti and Prosser by MacRumors
Interestingly, Apple's court papers say that the company first learned about Prosser and Ramacciotti's plan through an anonymous email tip it received on April 4th, 2025. Besides telling Apple the story that allegedly reveals how Prosser obtained the iOS 26 material he leaked, the email also revealed that Prosser was sharing some of the leaks obtained from Lipnik's iPhone with other unnamed iPhone leakers.
Prosser posted a Tweet on Thursday night stating that he disagreed with how Apple presented the events, adding that he certainly did not plot to obtain anyone's iPhone.
This anonymously created and sent email to Apple got FPT's Jon Prosser in hot water. | Image credit-Scribd
Apple filed its case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint charges Presser and Ramacciotti of Misappropriation of Trade Secrets Under The Defend Trade Secrets Act and Violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Apple seeks an injunction to prevent further disclosure of its confidential trade secrets. Lipnik has been fired for not following Apple's policies to protect development and unreleased devices and software.
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