An English businessman is suing Apple after his wife found 'deleted' messages to sex workers on their family iMac, leading to her filing for divorce, The Times reported. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, used iMessage to communicate with sex workers and believed he had permanently erased these messages from his iPhone.
However, the messages were still accessible on the iMac due to device synchronization with the same Apple ID. The businessman claims Apple did not inform users that deleting a message on one device does not remove it from all linked devices.
He stated, 'If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it's deleted.' The discovery of these messages prompted his wife to file for divorce, which has cost him over 5 million pounds. Describing the divorce as 'painful and raw,' he believes a more rational conversation could have saved his marriage if the messages had not been discovered so harshly.
The businessman is now suing Apple for 5 million pounds and aims to turn his lawsuit into a class-action suit for others who might have faced similar issues. He argues that Apple's lack of clarity on message deletion led to this situation.
He suggested clearer messaging from Apple, such as 'These messages are deleted on this device only,' could have prevented this misunderstanding.
His lawyer, Simon Walton, told The Telegraph, 'Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete.' Walton emphasized that iPhones inform users that 'messages have been deleted,' which he claims is misleading because they can still be found on other linked devices. He is eager to hear from other Apple customers who have experienced similar issues.