UK man sues Apple after wife discovers ‘deleted’ chat with sex worker on another device

A disgruntled UK man was suing Apple after his wife discovered his text messages sent to sex workers that he had apparently ‘deleted’ on another device. The ordeal eventually led to his divorce, for which the UK man is blaming the US phone maker. The man says Apple’s lack of transparency regarding the status of deleted messages led to the collapse of his marriage.

The man, whose name has not been disclosed publically, admitted in an interview that he contacted sex workers via the iMessage app on his iPhone. 

He later deleted those messages on the phone, believing they were permanently erased. However, his wife later found those messages on iMac.

“If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted,” he was quoted as saying by The Times.

He said the ordeal led to his “painful and raw” divorce. 

“If I had been able to talk to her rationally and she had not had such a brutal realisation of it, I might still be married,” he said further.

The man is now seeking £5 million in damages from Apple, blaming the phone maker for his divorce and accusing it of misleading him regarding the status of his messages.

The man’s attorney, Simon Walton, said the US giant has not been clear about the policy regarding the deleted messages.

“Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete,” he was quoted as saying by Telegraph.

“This is misleading because these messages are still found on other linked devices — something Apple doesn’t tell its users,” he said.

Walton has shown interest in getting in touch with other Apple customers who have encountered similar issues.

He believes that if Apple had communicated more clearly about message deletion across devices, it could have potentially prevented his client’s marital breakdown.

(With inputs from agencies)