A British man is suing Apple for over £5 million (Rs 52.93 crore) after his wife discovered deleted messages to sex workers, leading to their impending divorce. The plaintiff, known only as Richard, claims that Apple’s unclear policies regarding deleted messages on its devices have had a devastating impact on his personal life.
Richard, a middle-aged man from England, revealed to The Times that he had contacted sex workers through the iMessage app on his iPhone during the last years of his marriage. Believing that these incriminating messages were removed from the device after being deleted, he was shocked when his wife found them on the family iMac, where they had been synced and stored for years.
Within a month, Richard’s wife filed for divorce. “When you’re told a message is deleted, you have a right to believe it’s deleted. It’s all very painful and still very raw,” Richard told The Times.
He lamented the suddenness and brutality of his wife’s discovery and speculated that if the truth had come out differently, there might have been a chance to save their 20-year marriage. Reflecting on their relationship, Richard said: “We were very happily married for over 20 years. A great marriage was thrown away because of something that many men and some women do.”
Richard compared his situation to that of friends who had affairs but managed to stay married. “There would have been a way if the realization hadn’t been so sudden and brutal and shattering,” he added.
Richard is taking legal action against Apple, seeking compensation for financial losses from the divorce and legal fees, which he estimates to be over £5 million. He claimed that Apple failed to adequately inform users that deleted messages could still be accessible on other linked devices.
“If the message had said ‘These messages will be deleted on this device’, that would have been a warning, or ‘These messages will only be deleted on this device’, that would have been even better,” Richard argued.
The ordeal, Richard said, has not only cost him financially but also taken a toll on his health. “I took very strong beta blockers to try to calm my panic attacks. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Divorce is an extraordinarily stressful process, especially with children and family dynamics,” he said, attributing his despair to Apple’s deceptive message deletion practices.
