New Delhi: Apple has filed a lawsuit against one of its former senior engineers, accusing him of stealing confidential information about the Vision Pro headset and taking it to Snap, the parent company of Snapchat. The legal complaint, filed in California’s Santa Clara County Superior Court on June 24, has stirred up fresh questions around data protection in the wearable tech race.
Di Liu, who worked at Apple for nearly seven years, is at the centre of the case. According to Apple, Liu downloaded thousands of sensitive files from his company-issued MacBook in the days leading up to his resignation. Apple claims this included information on product design, testing strategies, supply chain details, and some unreleased features of the Vision Pro headset.
Apple claims data theft masked as personal time off
As per court documents, Liu told Apple he was stepping down to take care of his health and spend more time with family. However, the lawsuit alleges that Liu had already accepted a job offer from Snap. Apple believes he intentionally avoided mentioning his new employer to bypass internal protocols that revoke system access when someone joins a competitor.
A forensic analysis of Liu’s work laptop reportedly revealed that he accessed and renamed specific folders, then uploaded them to his personal cloud storage. Apple claims he also deleted many files from the device, which the company sees as a deliberate move to hide the extent of the data transfer.
Vision Pro at the centre of the legal storm
The information Liu allegedly took is said to relate directly to Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which has been the tech giant’s most ambitious entry into augmented reality. The headset is yet to fully roll out globally, but Apple sees it as a long-term product line with big potential.
Snap, which is not named in the lawsuit as a defendant, makes its own AR glasses under the “Spectacles” branding. While Apple has stopped short of accusing Snap of wrongdoing, it argues that Liu’s role at Snap is closely tied to the kind of material he allegedly took from Apple.
Snap responded to media queries stating there is “no connection between the lawsuit and Liu’s current responsibilities,” distancing itself from the claims.
Apple wants devices checked, damages paid
The tech company is asking the court to order Liu to return all the materials he allegedly took and permit inspection of his personal devices and cloud accounts. Apple is also seeking financial compensation for breach of contract and misuse of trade secrets.
This case now joins a growing list of lawsuits involving former employees in the tech industry, many of whom are accused of walking out with proprietary data as they move to rival companies. With the augmented reality space getting more crowded, legal fights over intellectual property may become more common in the coming months.
Apple’s complaint and legal filings were first reported by SiliconValley.com. The court proceedings are ongoing.