A businessman from England is suing Apple after his wife found “deleted” messages he sent to sex workers, leading to their divorce. The unnamed middle-aged man claims Apple’s lack of transparency over deleted messages caused his wife to file for divorce.
The man admitted to The Times that he contacted prostitutes through the iMessage app on his iPhone and deleted the texts. However, his wife discovered the messages on the family’s iMac, including years-old messages he thought were erased.
He is now suing Apple for over £5 million, blaming the company for not clearly informing users that deleted messages can still appear on other devices.
“If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted,” he told The Times. He expressed that his wife’s discovery was brutal and painful, affecting their ability to handle the situation rationally.
He added, “Divorce is an extraordinarily stressful process and you have children and family dynamics. In my opinion, it’s all because Apple told me my messages were deleted when they weren’t. If the message had said, ‘These messages are deleted on this device,’ that would have been a clue, or ‘These messages are deleted on this device only,’ that would have been even better.”
Simon Walton from London law firm Rosenblatt, representing the businessman, told The Telegraph that “Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete.” He emphasized that the iPhone’s message deletion notification is misleading because the messages are still found on other linked devices, something Apple doesn’t inform users about.
Walton also expressed interest in hearing from other Apple customers who have experienced similar issues. The businessman is seeking compensation for over £5 million he lost in his divorce and legal costs.
