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We've seen it time and time again. There's a big upcoming tech release,

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but before the product officially drops, leaks galore start popping up online,

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giving away specifications, pricing, and even what the gadget is supposed to look like.

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But how does this happen so much, especially with high-profile items

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like graphics cards and smartphones? The manufacturers obviously sign employees, vendors,

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and reviewers to non-disclosure agreements and have money to spend

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to keep upcoming products under wraps. So what gives?

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A lot of the answer comes down to just how many people have to do their part in keeping a product secret.

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Sometimes it's just an employee of the manufacturer itself being careless.

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Infamously, an Apple employee left an iPhone 4 in a bar

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before it was released, and before Apple could do anything about it, teardowns of the device were all over the internet.

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More recently, Google's Pixel 3 XL was left in the back of a lift prior to its release

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with tech blogs being all too happy to repost the images of the phone

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that the driver sent them. But even if no employees are being careless,

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tech firms rarely produce everything in-house. Instead, they rely on outside manufacturers and suppliers

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to assemble the finished product, meaning it only takes one person on an assembly line

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somewhere to leak a new gadget. Indeed, some have been caught in the past

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trying to sell yet-to-be-released products on the black market.

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On top of this, it isn't just the factory making the new phone or tablet or whatever

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that the manufacturer has to worry about. Many high-profile electronics

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have many accessories made for them by other companies

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who are given designs for the upcoming product to work off of. For example, the news about the iPhone 7,

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not having a headphone jack, first broke because of a leak out of a factory

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that made phone cases, and people noticed there was no cutout

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for a wired pair of headphones to go in. Then you have folks who are careless

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with product information that aren't even part of the supply chain.

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Typically, you see this with technology reporters and reviewers who agree to embargo dates,

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meaning they're contractually obligated not to release any information

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before and agreed upon date and time. However, sometimes embargoes are broken

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because someone wants to get a scoop or simply by accident.

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So with all these potential security holes, can companies do anything about leaks

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other than firing any employees responsible or ending relationships with tech reviewers

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who violate embargoes? One good example of a major leak prevention program

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can be found, unsurprisingly, at Apple, which operates a worldwide loyalty team.

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These are undercover employees embedded in certain product groups

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to monitor the flow of information. And it might've been this program

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that caught 29 Apple leakers in 2017.

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Worse still for would-be leakers is that 12 of those people were arrested

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as stealing trade secrets and intruding upon a network are crimes.

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So people that leak on purpose for notoriety or a payday

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could be looking at consequences more dire than just losing their job.

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But there's one question we haven't yet answered. Why do companies care so much

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about stopping leaks in the first place? Well, part of it is that companies like to cash in

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on all the hype produced around official launch events

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and having an unauthorized link could temper excitement

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and ultimately sales if everyone already knows what's coming.

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Manufacturers also fear product leaks could give their competition a leg up

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by letting them know what an upcoming product or even a prototype will be like

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and giving them time to respond with an offering of their own.

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However, there's also been speculation over the years that some leaks have actually been intentional exercises

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and hype building by the companies themselves. So it might end up being pretty hard to figure out

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how and why a specific leak happens. So remember, take everything with a grain of salt

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and wait for official specifications and official reviews before plunking down

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your hard earned cash. So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video

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give it a thumbs up, hit subscribe and be sure to hit us up in the comments section

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with your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future.