Overview

• Michael Mathews, a Minnesota tech executive, has sued Apple after being locked out of two terabytes of data following the theft of his iPhone in Arizona.
• The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Apple of refusing to reset Recovery Keys despite evidence of ownership, leaving Mathews unable to recover critical personal and professional data.
• Nearly a dozen other victims with similar experiences have joined the case, potentially increasing legal pressure on Apple to revise its data recovery policies.
• Apple’s strict privacy and encryption protocols, including end-to-end encryption for iCloud backups, often hinder recovery efforts for legitimate users while protecting stolen devices from unauthorized access.
• Legal experts suggest the case could push Apple to develop more robust systems for assisting theft victims, though the discovery process and resolution are expected to take months.