Apple App Privacy Invasion Class Action Lawsuit

A federal class action lawsuit claims Apple sells apps through its App Store that secretly upload users’ personal information, including contact lists and photos, and shares this information with third-party developers, despite Apple’s purported privacy protections for its mobile devices.

According to the Apple App Store class action lawsuit:

“Apple claims to review each application before offering it to users, purports to have implemented apps privacy standards, and claims to have created a strong privacy protection for its customers. However, unbeknownst to consumers such as Plaintiff, some of these apps have been secretly uploading user personal information, including, but not limited to user names, contact lists (including names, addresses and phone numbers of users’ contacts), photographs and videos without user knowledge or consent. For example, users who allow apps to use location data, which is used for GPS-based apps, are also unknowingly giving these apps access to the user’s private photo and video files that can be uploaded and saved on the app’s servers.”

The Apple app class action lawsuit says Apple failed to properly safeguard the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and, instead, “induced” consumers into purchasing an Apple device and to download apps under the premise that their private information would remain confidential and would not be shared with third-party developers without their express consent.

“Plaintiff did not consent to her private information being provided to third parties, nor was she aware that these apps were able to do so,” says the class action lawsuit. “Plaintiff alleges that Apple invaded and/or facilitated the invasion of her privacy, misappropriated and misused her personal information, and interfered with the operability of her mobile devices.”

The Apple app privacy class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of anyone who purchased an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad between June 15, 2010 and the present. It is asking the Court for a temporary, preliminary and/or permanent order prohibiting Apple from continuing the policies and practices described in the lawsuit, and an order requiring Apple to inform the public about the “wrongfulness of Apple’s practices.”

A copy of the Apple App Privacy Invasion Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Maria Pirozzi v. Apple, Inc., Case No. 12-cv-01529, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.