An Apple fan says they lost '20 years of digital life' after using an Apple gift card – here's what happened

Your digital life gone in an instant

News By Alex Blake published 15 December 2025

(Image credit: Marjan Apostolovic / Shutterstock)

• A developer says he's been ‘permanently’ locked out of his Apple Account
• This happened after he purchased a compromised Apple gift card
• It leaves ’20 years of digital life’ out of reach, as Apple seemingly can’t help

An Apple fan who has spent “nearly 30 years as a loyal customer” says they’ve been “permanently” locked out of their Apple Account due to what might be the overzealous actions of Apple’s automated anti-fraud system. It’s left them locked out of “20 years of digital life,” and it all started with the seemingly straightforward purchase of an Apple gift card.

According to a blog post from developer Paris Buttfield-Addison, their entire Apple Account has been barred, locking them out of their entire purchase history, stored photos, and more. This apparently happened with “no explanation and no recourse,” putting “terabytes of family photos” and their entire message history out of reach, as well as preventing the ability to sync work across devices.

It apparently all started when Buttfield-Addison tried to redeem a $500 Apple gift card in order to pay for their 6TB iCloud+ subscription. The card was purchased from a major brick-and-mortar retailer, but its code did not seem to work. The vendor suggested that it might be compromised and issued a new card, but that didn’t stop Buttfield-Addison’s account from being locked by Apple.

As a result of this, Buttfield-Addison says his devices cannot “sync, update, or function properly,” while software and media totaling thousands of dollars in value are now inaccessible to him. The outcome, the author says, is “over $30,000 worth of previously active ‘bricked’ hardware.”

We've asked Apple for comment on this case and also its official guidance for anyone in a similar situation, and will update this story if we hear back.

“Terrifyingly dismissive”

Unfortunately, Buttfield-Addison says that Apple has been either unwilling or unable to help him. “Most of the ways Apple has suggested seeking help from them involve signing in to an Apple service to upload something, or communicate with them,” Buttfield-Addison says. “This doesn’t work as the account is locked.”

Apple Support was also apparently “terrifyingly dismissive,” the blog post states, with staff refusing to tell Buttfield-Addison why his account was banned and seemingly obstructing his request to have the case escalated.

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