Mass £3bn iCloud lawsuit for UK customers gets green light

Millions of UK Apple customers are to be included in a class action lawsuit against the tech giant over the storage system iCloud. 

If successful, the £3bn lawsuit could see around 39.7 million people receive compensation.

Which?, the consumer rights group, first announced the lawsuit in late 2024 but has now received permission from the courts to proceed.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal gave permission on 17 June, but it is only now being publicised by the group, which needs to let people know to opt out if they don't want to be part of proceedings.

Which? claims Apple "trapped" customers using its devices into having to use - and pay for - its storage system.

"Apple has stifled competition and ripped off millions of customers in the process," said Which in a statement.

It alleges that consumers were "overcharged each year through their monthly iCloud subscription fees" and were given less free storage than would otherwise have been the case.

The rights group alleges Apple encouraged users to sign up to iCloud for storage of photos, videos and other data while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers.

Which? says Apple doesn't allow customers to store or back-up all of their phone's data with a third-party provider, arguing this violates competition law.

The consumer rights group says once iOS users have signed up to iCloud, they then have to pay for the service once their photos, notes, messages and other data go over the free 5GB limit.

The lawsuit will represent all UK Apple customers who used iCloud services since 8 November 2018 - any that don't want to be included will need to opt out.

However, if consumers live abroad but are otherwise eligible - for example, because they lived in UK and used the iCloud but then moved away - they can also opt in.

The consumer rights group estimates that individual consumers could be owed an average of £77, depending on how long they have been paying for the services during that period.

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An Apple spokesperson previously issued a statement in response to the 3 June court update, saying the claims by Which? are "unfounded".

"We work hard to make iCloud a great experience, but no customer is required to use it and customers in the UK have plenty of alternatives to choose from. We strongly disagree with this decision and plan to appeal."

(c) Sky News 2026: Mass £3bn iCloud lawsuit for UK customers gets green light