How Apple’s Find My app ‘cost’ a US city millions of dollars

Times of India

Apr 09, 2026

How Apple’s Find My app ‘cost’ a US city millions of dollars

Image Source : Asian Chronicle

's Find My app has cost the city of Denver, US $3.76 million in

. In 2022, the city’s police wrongly raided and ransacked an elderly woman's home looking for a stolen truck and guns.

were seeking to recover a stolen truck loaded with guns, ammo and cash. For this, the police used Apple's Find My technology on another

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were seeking ...
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However, the cops picked the wrong house out of a fairly wide area to storm in and catch the thieves.

filed a lawsuit against the law enforcement. As compensation, the city will be paying Johnson a $3.76 million award.

Moreover, the defendant officers — Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy — were also sued as an individual. Denver police had previously cleared both men of wrongdoing, but the jury disagreed.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case on behalf of Johnson. The lawsuit mentioned that the raid was conducted based on an “alleged location ping from an iPhone's Find My app that the officers did not understand and for which they had no training."

As per the complaint, the police relied on a "Find My" ping from an iPhone 11 that was probably still in the stolen truck. However, the area identified included parts of six other properties across parts of four city blocks.

said: “We are disturbed by the lack of training or policy changes and hope that the amount of the punitive damages award will send a strong message that the officials department must take seriously the constitutional rights of its residents.”

The ACLU and the jury concluded that the two authorities officers who ordered the raid had no reason to single out Johnson's house as the target.

Also, the officers have to pay nearly $1.25 million each in punitive and compensatory damages. A Denver District Court clerk noted that the city has not yet filed an appeal of the verdict.