Leaker Says Apple Conducted ‘Multi-Step Sting’ Operation to ID and Fire Their Inside Source
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A few months ago, a new leaker going by the handle of Analyst941 came on the scene, tweeting multiple times about rumors connected to upcoming Apple software and hardware releases and updates. In recent weeks, we’ve seen tweets from the account about new features expected in iOS 17, watchOS 10, and much more.
The leaker first tweeted last fall, sharing what turned out to be accurate information about the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island. At the time, most rumors said the new iPhone would feature two separate cutouts, one shaped like a pill and another in the shape of a hole punch. Analyst941 was the first to claim that Apple planned to visually merge those two cutouts via software in iOS 16.
A few months of silence followed before the leaker once again posted, first in the MacRumors forums, then via Twitter. This was followed by a series of regular posts leaking details on upcoming Apple software releases.
However, on Wednesday morning, the account suddenly went dark. The leaker later posted that the tweets were coming to an end, as Apple had identified and fired their source inside the company, following what the leaker called a “multi-step sting” operation.
What tripped up the leaking duo was the fact that Apple has historically been rather successful at plugging leaks when it comes to software releases. In this case, the “leak” that did them in was one about new software for the iPad: the long-anticipated Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.
Hardware leaks are far more common and harder to catch, as they generally come from within Apple’s supply chain. Details on software updates are easier to keep on the down low, as the software development process is controlled entirely by Apple.
Analyst941 recently tweeted that Apple was still working to bring Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to the iPad. While that wasn’t a new revelation, the timeline they put on it was: the release of Final Cut Pro was pegged for 2024, while Logic Pro would debut on the iPad sometime in 2025.
On Tuesday of this week, Apple announced the upcoming launch of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad — scheduled for May 23.
Unfortunately, as reported by 9to5Mac, Analyst941 had made previous posts on Twitter that their “inside source” at Apple was a sibling working directly with Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, as part of Apple’s software teams. That revelation was apparently enough to get the source fired.
Analyst941 posted a “farewell message” on the MacRumors forums on Wednesday. The post claimed that Apple deliberately planted the false 2024 and 2025 timelines with a single employee (Analyst941’s sister). When Analyst941 tweeted those dates, Apple knew that they had identified the account’s inside source.
Analyst941 and the fired sister are now worried that Apple will take legal action against them:
“I don’t want to share too many details right now because of the legality of things — but a multi-step sting has gotten my sister fired from Apple, and unfortunately I am afraid next is legal action being taken against both of us, separately.”
“The breaking point was multiple, if not almost all who knew about FCP/Logic iPad development was given a unique combination of release dates — unfortunately the combination I shared on Twitter matched the combination given to my sister as the FCP+Logic timeframe, along with other small factors.”
It’s not the first time Apple is believed to have engaged in sting operations like this. In early 2021, several otherwise-reliable leakers were fed information on a March 23 Apple event that never materialized. Later that same year, multiple sources reported a massive redesign of the Apple Watch Series 7 that was completely off the mark.
