A California federal judge has dismissed a consumer lawsuit over data privacy against Apple Inc, saying the plaintiffs had failed to show they had relied on any alleged company misrepresentations and that they had suffered harm. The four plaintiffs claimed in 2011 that Apple had violated its privacy policy, saying the iPhone maker had designed its iOS environment to easily transmit personal information to third parties that collect and analyze such data without user consent or detection. U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California dismissed the case. Plaintiffs must be able to provide some evidence that they saw one or more of Apples alleged misrepresentations, that they actually relied on those misrepresentations, and that they were harmed thereby, Koh said in the November 25 ruling.