Apple Leaker Issues Apology: 'Profound and Expensive Mistake' - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Leaker Issues Apology: 'Profound and Expensive Mistake'

Last year, we reported that Apple sued its former software engineer Andrew Aude for providing journalists with confidential information about the company's future plans, including details about the Journal app, Vision Pro headset, and more.

Apple Leak Feature
As reported by 9to5Mac, the Superior Court of Santa Clara County on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit after Apple and Aude reached an agreement to resolve this matter. The court document for the case's dismissal does not provide any specific details about the agreement, but Aude issued a public apology on the same day.

In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Aude said leaking information was a "profound and expensive mistake."

Aude's full apology:

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.

Aude joined Apple in 2016, to work on optimizing battery performance, and the company fired him in 2023 after learning of his wrongful disclosures. For more details about the situation, read our previous coverage of the lawsuit.

Popular Stories

apple bitcoin app scam

Apple Responds to Lawsuit Over Fake Bitcoin Wallet Scam in App Store

Monday July 27, 2026 6:00 am PDT by
Apple is facing a new lawsuit from three customers who allegedly lost a combined $1.8 million after falling victim to a fake Bitcoin wallet app in the App Store, according to a complaint filed in California federal court on Friday. The complaint alleges that Apple violated California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act and other laws by failing to adequately review and monitor apps distributed...
OpenAI vs Apple Feature

OpenAI President on Apple Lawsuit: We Don't Need Your Secrets

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:45 pm PDT by
OpenAI president Greg Brockman recently did an interview with Joanna Stern, where he commented on the lawsuit OpenAI is facing from Apple and talked about OpenAI's product plans. Brockman reiterated what OpenAI has already said on the record, stating that the company is "plenty innovative" and uninterested in other companies' trade secrets. I would say that we have no interest in other...
General iCloud App Feature

Apple's iCloud File Sharing Left Ex-Employees With Access to Secret Documents

Monday August 3, 2026 10:48 am PDT by
The way Apple combines work and personal iCloud accounts left some employees able to access confidential documents after departing the company, reports The Information. The site spoke to more than half a dozen former Apple employees who were unknowingly left with access to sensitive content. The former employees said many Apple files they had been shared on over their careers at the...

Top Rated Comments

iObama Avatar
20 months ago
Sounds like Apple wrote this, handed it to him, and said "Say this and we'll drop it." lol
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bonte Avatar
20 months ago

I suppose it's easier for Apple to go after the leakers than the people (e.g. Mark Gurman, Ming-Chi Kuo, etc) who write about the leaked info.
Well, writing about it isn't against the law, leaking contractually protected company secrets is.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
20 months ago
Andrew Aude: “Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world. None may atone for my actions but me, and only in me shall their stain live on. I am thankful to have been caught, my fall cut short by those with wizened hands. All I can be is sorry, and that is all I am.”

Tim Cook: “I don’t think you meant it… Again.”
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
20 months ago
It would be great if he posted a follow up tweet, 'One more thing', and then dropped one final leak
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
20 months ago
How dumb can people be? Don't you learn to not tell secrets in kindergarten?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
20 months ago
Imagine ruining your own career because of a worthless journal app that people forgot soon after its release
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)