Thought Leadership
Apple’s practice of linking employees’ personal and work iCloud accounts may allow former employees to retain access to confidential company documents even after leaving the company.
That is according to The Information, which spoke with more than six former Apple employees. According to their accounts, numerous files they had access to during their employment remained synchronized on their personal devices after they left the company. The files reportedly included planning documents related to upcoming product announcements. Several former employees said they continued to receive notifications when these documents were updated. Some also said they refrained from deleting the files out of concern about potential repercussions from Apple.
The Problem Lies in Apple’s Account Structure
According to the report, the issue stems from Apple encouraging employees to merge their personal Apple accounts with their work iCloud access. Employees receive a 2 TB storage plan, which they can either add to an existing account or use with a newly created account. Because only one primary account can be active on a device at a time, most employees reportedly choose to link their work access to an existing personal account rather than manage two devices in parallel.
Apple does maintain a separately managed folder for work files. Access to this folder is automatically revoked when an employee leaves the company. However, not all internal documents necessarily end up in that folder, potentially allowing business and personal content to coexist within the same iCloud storage environment. Former employees may also retain partial access to message histories and files shared through Apple’s Messages app.
Connection to Legal Dispute With OpenAI
The issue of continued access has also surfaced in connection with a lawsuit Apple filed against OpenAI. In the case, Apple accuses former employee Chang Liu of exploiting a rare and previously unknown vulnerability in its authentication system to download files while he was already working for OpenAI.
Apple told The Information that the lawsuit against OpenAI is unrelated to files that remained in former employees’ iCloud accounts. The company said it does not take legal action against former employees who unintentionally retain Apple documents in their personal iCloud accounts. According to Apple, the lawsuit concerns only cases in which employees unlawfully took confidential information relating to unreleased technologies, processes and products. The company said the matter has nothing to do with iCloud sharing.
Similar Allegations in Earlier Legal Disputes
Former employees also told The Information that Apple does not go far enough when removing sensitive content from personal devices. In a now-settled legal dispute, chipmaker Rivos accused Apple of deliberately allowing former employees to retain access to files in order to create a basis for subsequent lawsuits over alleged trade secret theft. In that particular case, one employee reportedly came under scrutiny because he had stored work-related files in his personal iCloud account.
Former Apple engineer Gerard Williams, who was also sued by the company, made similar allegations in a countersuit. He accused Apple of using intimidation tactics to discourage potential departures. Apple had sued Williams for breach of contract after he founded processor startup Nuvia, presenting extensive phone and text message records as evidence. The court dismissed Williams’ countersuit, while Apple withdrew its original lawsuit in 2023.
The Information does not claim that Apple deliberately allows former employees to retain access to company data. However, the publication notes that using iCloud for internal file sharing, combined with what appears to be incomplete account cleanup after employees leave, is at odds with Apple’s otherwise strongly emphasized commitment to privacy and security.
(lb)
