A middle-aged businessman from England, identified only as Richard, is suing Apple for over £5 million. He claims this amount covers his divorce and legal costs after his wife discovered messages he had sent to sex workers on the family iMac. Richard asserts that he had deleted the messages from his iPhone and alleges that Apple’s lack of transparency about deleted messages led to the breakdown of his marriage and the resulting financial losses.
In the final years of his marriage, Richard reportedly turned to prostitutes, contacting them through iMessage on his iPhone. He would then delete the messages, believing they were gone for good. However, his wife stumbled upon the messages on the family iMac, which was linked to Richard’s iPhone, leading to their divorce.
Richard argues that Apple’s messaging about deleted messages is misleading, creating a false sense of security. He claims that if he had known the messages could be retrieved, he would have been more cautious. “If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted,” Richard told The Times. “It’s all quite painful and quite raw still. It was a very brutal way of finding out [for my wife].”
Apple has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit, but the case has sparked a debate about user privacy and data deletion in the digital age. The outcome could have significant implications for Apple and other tech companies. If Richard is successful, it may force Apple to revise its data deletion policies and provide clearer information to users, potentially setting a precedent for future lawsuits regarding data privacy and transparency.
The case also serves as a cautionary tale for users who share devices, highlighting the importance of understanding how data is stored and shared across linked devices, especially when sensitive information is involved.
