Apple is facing certified collective proceedings in the UK over alleged anti-competitive practices involving iCloud storage. The case is not a finding that Apple broke the law: the £1.5bn headline is a rounded estimate in Which?’s claim, not compensation awarded by a court. The case concerns iCloud, not Apple’s App Store commissions.
What Which? alleges
Which?, the Consumers’ Association, alleges that Apple abused a dominant position in cloud storage for iOS users. Its claim argues that Apple’s technical restrictions and the way iOS presents choices favour iCloud, limit or exclude competing services, and steer users towards iCloud.
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The Competition Appeal Tribunal’s published summary of the claim describes allegations including limits on storing certain file types with other services, iCloud’s integration into iOS and device setup, and friction when transferring data from an iOS device to Android. These are Which?’s allegations, not established facts or findings by the Tribunal.
The proposed claims invoke section 18 of the Competition Act 1998 for the period from 1 October 2015 onward, and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union for the period from 1 October 2015 to 31 December 2020. The certified claims are alleged breaches of those provisions.
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What the £1.5bn figure means
In the claim-form summary published by the Competition Appeal Tribunal on 6 December 2024, Which? reported damages estimates calculated as at 30 September 2024. The £1.5bn headline is a rounded figure within the estimate for people who paid for iCloud services; it is not the whole set of estimates in the claim.
| Claim category | Estimate excluding interest | Estimate including simple interest |
|---|---|---|
| Class members who paid for iCloud services | £1.382bn–£1.987bn | £1.782bn–£2.583bn |
| Class members who never paid for iCloud services | £224m | £300m |
These are estimates advanced by Which? in its claim form, not a judicial valuation or an award. They are dated figures and may not reflect any later position in the proceedings.
Who may be included in the claim
The Tribunal’s Collective Proceedings Order (CPO), made on 17 June 2026, defines the class. In general, it covers natural persons who obtained iCloud services for use on an iOS device during the claim period, where the Apple ID account had the UK selected as its country or region. The order contains specified exclusions, so owning an Apple device or having an Apple ID alone does not establish eligibility.
- Claim period: It begins on 8 November 2018 and continues until final determination or earlier settlement.
- Cutoff: People who first obtained iCloud services after 8 June 2026 are excluded.
- Services: The CPO includes storage or backup through iCloud, iCloud+ and Apple One, whether purchased or otherwise, including iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos and iCloud Backup.
- Devices: The order includes iPhones and iPads, among other Apple mobile devices running iOS or iPadOS.
The CPO’s full wording and exclusions control. Check the current order and claims website if you are deciding whether the definition applies to you.
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Opt-out and opt-in deadline
The CPO states that people within the class who were domiciled in the UK on 8 June 2026 may opt out by writing to the claims administrators by 8 October 2026. People within the class who were domiciled outside the UK on that date must opt in by the same deadline. The order names Epiq as claims administrator and directs overseas opt-in applicants to the claim website or administrator.
As of 5 October 2026, that stated deadline is three days away. Check the current claim website and the latest Tribunal order promptly, because the deadline or process may have changed. The available case information does not establish that class membership guarantees an individual payment or state what any eventual payment would be.
Where the case stands and what happens next
The Tribunal granted Which?’s CPO application on 2 April 2026 and dismissed Apple’s strike-out application on 6 May 2026. The CPO records the ruling: “The Defendants’ Strike-Out Application is dismissed.” These were procedural decisions: certification lets the collective case proceed, but does not decide whether Apple is liable.
The Tribunal’s live case record lists a case-management conference for 27 November 2026 and a trial for the first available date in October 2028, estimated to last nine weeks. Those dates are subject to change by later Tribunal orders. The case record does not report a final decision on liability.
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