A businessman from England is suing Apple after “deleted” messages he sent to sex workers were found by his wife on a family iMac, leading to a divorce. The middle-aged man claims Apple’s lack of transparency regarding the deletion of messages resulted in the discovery, causing significant personal and financial consequences.
According to The Times, the man had been contacting prostitutes via the iMessage app on his iPhone during the final years of his marriage, believing that deleting the messages from his phone would erase them completely. However, his wife found the incriminating messages on the family computer, revealing conversations that the man thought had been erased years ago.
“If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted,” the man told The Times. He expressed that the discovery led to a brutal confrontation and subsequent divorce, a situation he believes could have been handled more rationally if the messages had truly been deleted.
The businessman is pursuing legal action against Apple, seeking compensation for the over £5 million he lost in his divorce and related legal costs. He argues that Apple did not clearly inform users that deleted messages can still appear on other Apple devices linked to the same account.
Simon Walton, a representative from the London law firm Rosenblatt, stated that “Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete.” Walton emphasized that the iPhone’s notification that messages are deleted is misleading because they can still be accessed on other connected devices, a fact that Apple does not adequately communicate to its users.
Walton added, “I would be eager to hear from other Apple customers who have experienced similar issues.”
The case highlights potential issues with the synchronization of messages across Apple devices and raises questions about user privacy and data management. As the lawsuit progresses, it may prompt Apple to review and possibly revise how it communicates data deletion across its ecosystem to prevent similar incidents in the future.
