A new proposed federal class action alleges that Apple violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act when it records users’ private activity on their mobile applications.
According to the lawsuit, Apple has assured users that they are in control of what information they share when they use mobile apps, but that is not true.
Privacy is one of the main issues that Apple uses to set its products apart. Apple has no privacy guarantees.
The tech giant continues to collect, track, and monetize their data even after consumers have chosen not to do so, despite the fact that Apple’s iPhones and other devices contain settings that purport to disabling all tracking and sharing of app information.
An example of how the company collects user data is provided in Apple’s “App Store” app, where the app records every action users take, what they tapped on, which apps they searched for, what ads they saw, and how long they looked at a given app, the lawsuit
It said that most apps that send data to Apple share the same ID numbers so that Apple can track user activity.
The lawsuit said Apple knows the most intimate and potentially embarrassing aspects of the user’s app usage regardless of whether the user accepts Apple’s illusory offer to keep such activities private.
The causes of action are unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy, and violations of CIPA.
Relief includes class certification, injunctive relief, statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
The class size could be hundreds of thousands of members.
Apple didn’t respond immediately to an email requesting comment.
The proposed class is represented by the Bursor & Fisher PA.
The case was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
