Employee Claims Apple Has Threatened Termination Over Viral TikTok Video

An Apple employee says that Apple, a company she has worked at for over six years, is threatening to fire her over a viral TikTok video she made where she provides basic, commonsense, and publicly available tips on what to do if your iPhone is stolen.

apple employee viral tiktok firing claim
The employee, Paris Campbell, has nearly half a million followers on TikTok, with over 17.7 million likes at the time of writing. Until a video last week, Campbell had never publicly identified herself as an Apple employee; instead, she often shared her work as a stand-up comedian and reaction videos to funny and quirky content posted on the app.

A week ago, Campbell responded to another person's TikTok in which they explained they had their ‌iPhone‌ stolen and then received messages from the thieves threatening to sell their private information on the black market. The victim had tracked their ‌iPhone‌ with Find My and found out it was in China.

Specifically, in their messages to the victim, the thieves tried to convince them to remove the stolen ‌iPhone‌ from their Apple ID account to bypass Activation Lock. Doing so is strongly recommended against as that would render the device usable and benefit no one but the criminals.

In her video responding to the distressed victim, Campbell began by saying, "I can't tell you how exactly I know this information, but I can tell you for the last six years I've been a certified hardware engineer for a certain company that likes to talk a lot about fruit." Campbell goes on to strongly advise against removing the ‌iPhone‌ from the ‌Apple ID‌ and goes on to explain Activation Lock.

As a reminder, Activation Lock automatically requires users to unlock their ‌iPhone‌, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch after it's been erased with their ‌Apple ID‌ password if it's still connected to an account. Without the ‌Apple ID‌'s password or the password used to unlock the device previously, the ‌iPhone‌, in this case, is rendered entirely useless.

Campbell, in her video, provides only handy tips for the victim and reassurance that despite the thieves' claim they have access to private information, they don't. Campbell concludes the video by advising the victim to ignore the messages. The video has over 7.4 million views at the time of writing.

Just a few days after posting that video, Campbell posted another video explaining what had happened. She said she received a call from her manager telling her that she had breached Apple policy by publicly identifying herself as an Apple employee. Apple's policy, however, does not limit employees from publicly identifying themselves as Apple employees but only requires them to maintain Apple's image and reputation in their online presence.

Dozens of Apple engineers publicly identify themselves as Apple employees on Twitter, often interacting with the community and sharing their excitement about what they have been working on post-announcement.

"If you ask me, reinforcing the public's confidence in Apple's security is not something that makes the company look bad, especially when it reaches 5 million people," Campbell said in her follow-up video. "If we want to get technical, I've never actually identified myself as an Apple employee until this video," she continued.

Her manager told her that Apple does not pay for her to "make TikTok videos," and Campbell agrees, saying it's just something she enjoys doing in her spare time."Apple, you didn't hire me to make TikTok videos, but apparently, I'm really good at it. Talking about your products and tech in general and how people can deal with it in their everyday life is kind of the thing that I'm best at," Campbell said.

"Maybe instead of reprimanding me, you should be looking through the comments and seeing the amount of people that are thanking me." "I work for Apple and would very much like to stay working for Apple. For the last almost six years, I have been a stellar employee, and that's evident by getting exceeded expectations on almost every single one of my reviews."

"There was a time when Apple used to respect when people did things that are really wacky and out of the box. This is definitely wacky and out of the box," Campbell concludes her video by saying. Since posting the follow-up video, Campbell's employment status remains unknown, and she has not addressed the controversy since. We've reached out to Apple for comment.

Top Rated Comments

sfwalter Avatar
8 months ago
Sad when corporate policies get in way of someone trying to help. It’s not like she was giving away any trade secrets.
Score: 72 Votes (Like | Disagree)
q64ceo Avatar
8 months ago
I get a feeling that there's more to the story here.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smici Avatar
8 months ago
The biggest mistake what she had done is that she used tiktok.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skiefire Avatar
8 months ago
The initial reprimand was probably an overreaction by a numpty manager at Apple, but her followup criticising them publicly will be what gets her fired.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pankeborg Avatar
8 months ago
Specifically, in their messages to the victim, the thieves tried to convince them to remove the stolen ‌iPhone‌ from their Apple ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/guide/apple-id/') account to bypass Activation Lock.

I don't get it. Obviously you shouldn't follow the advice of the thieves that stole your phone. You don't need a tiktoker telling you that.

I also don't get why the tiktoker has to mention that she works for Apple. What she says after that is public information.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Loismustdie1 Avatar
8 months ago
That's why you never broadcast where you work when doing PERSONAL social media engagement. Even then, you need to be very careful what you say if you choose to discuss a product your job creates or promotes. Things can get hairy really quickly otherwise.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
apple tv 4k red image

Apple Releases tvOS 16.4 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD

Monday March 27, 2023 10:00 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 16.4, the fourth major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that came out last September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.4 comes two months following the release of tvOS 16.3. The tvOS 16.4 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌ by going to System > Software Update....