Apple is being sued for secretly eating up your mobile data

Apple iPhone 6S
Apple iPhone 6S

Apple annoyed customers when it was discovered the iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature was eating through a lot of data caps, unbeknown to some users. Now a new lawsuit has found the company in even more trouble over the controversy.

Apple is being sued after the iOS 9 update turned Wi-Fi Assist on without the user's knowledge. Plaintiffs William Scott Phillips and Suzanna Schmidt Phillips have filed a lawsuit in a US District Court claiming the "overall amount in controversy exceeds" $5 million.

Apple soon placed a support guide on its website to turn the feature off. But there hasn't been a software update to change the feature, so many people are still using mobile data without their knowledge.

Big, big trouble

Wi-Fi Assist

The suit reads: "Defendant's above corrective action, however, still downplays the possible data overcharges a user could incur.

"Reasonable and average consumers use their iPhones for streaming of music, videos, and running various applications — all of which can use significant data. Defendant's corrective statement does not disclose any basis for its conclusion that an average consumer would not see much increase in cellular usage."

The plaintiffs both experienced charges on iPhone 5S models, but it isn't currently clear how much extra was spent.

Apple declined to comment when contacted by techradar.

If you still haven't switched the feature off we recommend following our guide to turn off Wi-Fi Assist. If you're on limited data it's worth doing so as you may be ringing up a rather large bill that costs more than what you were expecting.

If you're on an iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or a first-generation iPad mini you won't have the feature enabled, so you're all safe.

Via Apple Insider

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.