As reported by AppleInsider in a formal court filing on October 29, 2025, Michael Ramacciotti denied conspiring with tech YouTuber Jon Prosser to steal Apple’s trade secrets.
He admitted to accessing an Apple development iPhone and showing Prosser some pre-release iOS 26 features over FaceTime. However, he says he didn’t know disclosing them was off limits. The court filing says Prosser offered the $650 only after the FaceTime call, and that Ramacciotti hadn’t expected or been promised any payment beforehand.
On October 22 it was reported by 9to5Mac that The US District Court for the Northern District of California had accepted Apple’s request to enter default against Jon Prosser in the lawsuit it filed last July after Prosser failed to respond. On October 23, The Verge reports that Prosser says he’s been in communication about the case.
In July it was announced that Apple was suing Prosser for the alleged theft of trade secrets related to iOS 26. As reported by The Verge, Prosser is accused of tasking another man, Ramacciotti, with secretly accessing an Apple employee’s development iPhone and using that information to report on Apple’s planned changes in the then-unannounced iOS 26.
From the lawsuit: Apple’s subsequent investigation revealed that Defendant Jon Prosser—working with Defendant Michael Ramacciotti improperly accessed and disclosed Apple’s highly confidential, unreleased software designs, including details regarding the unreleased iOS 19 operating system (which is now known as iOS 26) for Apple mobile devices.
Both Defendants knew that Apple goes to great lengths to protect its trade secret information, including the highly sensitive information contained on devices used for the express purpose of developing new products. Defendants also explicitly acknowledged they were not authorized to access those devices, much less steal Apple’s trade secrets from them.
Defendants’ misconduct was brazen and egregious. After Mr. Prosser learned that Mr. Ramacciotti needed money, and that his friend Ethan Lipnik worked at Apple on unreleased software designs, Defendants jointly planned to access Apple’s confidential and trade secret information through Mr. Lipnik’s Apple-owned development iPhone (the “Development iPhone”). Apple learned the details of the scheme in Mr. Ramacciotti’s own words—through an audio message to Mr. Lipnik, which Mr. Lipnik provided to Apple.
Apple is asking for both damages and a court order preventing Prosser from disclosing Apple’s trade secrets again.
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
