Apple Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over iCloud Private Relay Flaws

The Clarkson Law Firm filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Apple Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing the company of fraud, misrepresentation, and false advertising. The suit, filed by plaintiff Edward Rickman, alleges that the iCloud Private Relay feature failed to protect users' IP addresses despite being a paid component of iCloud+ subscriptions.

The legal action follows security research showing that websites supporting or pretending to support passkeys can bypass Private Relay to expose a user's real IP address. The complaint also identifies vulnerabilities involving DNS prefetching and WebTransport connections. The lawsuit argues that Apple knew or should have known these representations were false, causing subscribers to overpay for a service that did not provide the marketed privacy protections.

Tim Giordano, a partner at Clarkson Law Firm, described the situation as an "outrageous violation and betrayal of consumer trust and law," noting that Apple built its brand on the promise of protecting user privacy. Apple has not yet responded to the allegations.