Apple iOS 13 iPhones Inexplicably Consuming Data Class Action

This class action brings suit against Apple, Inc. for what it calls “the Consuming Code.” The complaint alleges that Apple’s newest version of its operating system, iOS v. 13, contains code “that caused devices running iOS 13 to consume cellular data without the user’s input or control, and without providing the user any identifiable benefit.”

The class for this action is all buyers, owners, user, or lessees of an Apple iPhone who installed a version of iOS 13 on it before version 13.6 and who used a limited cellular data plan with that phone while that version of iOS 13 was installed.

The complaint says, “One of the reasons that Apple updates iOS periodically is to add security improvements called ‘patches.’ If users choose not to install the most recent iOS version, their iPhones may be vulnerable to outside attack.” The complaint claims it is therefore reasonable for consumers to install the latest version of iOS.

Apple creates the hardware, but it does not provide the cellular data connection for the phone. The user must pay another party for that. Consumers pay for “plans” that allow them to use a certain amount of data per month. Those who use more than this amount must pay overage fees, which can be expensive.

The complaint alleges, “Within weeks of Apple releasing iOS 13, consumers started noticing that their iPhones were consuming data inexplicably.”

The iPhone’s settings allow users to track the amount of data consumed during a given period. One of the categories of data use is “Uninstalled Apps,” that is, from apps that the user had uninstalled that are thus no longer on the list of data-consuming apps. With iOS 13, users began seeing unexpected amounts of data use attributed to Uninstalled Apps, amounts that continued to increase even when no more apps had been uninstalled.

The complaint quotes some online postings about the problem, for example, “My phone has blown through 19 gig [sic] of data of which 70% has been uninstalled apps, with the phone being replaced, and nothing being installed or uninstalled on the phone.”

According to the complaint, plaintiff Alasdair Turner reports that “the Consuming Code used the cellular network and consumed cellular data even when Mr. Turner’s phone was connected to Wi-Fi.”

Subsequent updates did not address this problem until July 2020, leaving the Consuming Code to eat up data at users’ expense. Although the problem has now stopped, the complaint says, “Apple has refused to comment on the issue.

The complaint alleges, “Apple’s silence exposes the truth: that the Consuming Code was intentionally introduced and maintained by Apple itself for its own undisclosed purposes and its own benefit. Apple also deliberately withheld from users the ability to control the costs associated with whatever undisclosed functions the Consuming Code performed.”

Among the counts are trespass to chattels and violations of California’s Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Causing Users Extra Expense, Electronic Apps and Updates