Credits: The Times
A British man is absurdly suing Apple after his wife discovered messages to prostitutes on their family iMac, leading to their divorce. Known only as “Richard,” the man had been using iMessages on his iPhone to contact prostitutes, believing he had deleted the evidence. However, the messages were automatically synchronized to the iMac due to Apple’s ecosystem, which he failed to manage properly with Family Sharing or separate user accounts.
According to The Times, the wife discovered the messages on the iMac, exposing years of infidelity, and filed for divorce within a month. The man lost over £5 million ($6.37 million) in the settlement, largely due to his visits to prostitutes. Now, he seeks to recover this money from Apple and is encouraging others in similar situations to join his lawsuit.
He argues that Apple doesn’t clearly inform users that messages can be synchronized across devices on the same account, even after being deleted on one device. However, this is a user error, not an Apple issue. Apple’s support pages state that messages deleted on one device can be removed from others if Messages in iCloud is configured. Unsending messages is also an option, but it must be done quickly and is intended for correcting mistakes.
“If you are told a message is deleted you are entitled to believe it’s deleted,” the man claimed, calling the discovery “a very brutal way” for his wife to find out and suggesting the marriage might have survived if he had been able to discuss it with her. Despite the absurdity of blaming Apple for his own behavior, he persists with the lawsuit.
In addition to the financial impact of the divorce, Richard claims his health has suffered. To manage panic attacks, he has been taking “really strong beta blockers” and feared he might have a heart attack.
“If the message had said ‘These messages are deleted on this device,’ that would have been a clue,” Richard said. “‘These messages are deleted on this device only’ would have been a much clearer indicator,” he continued.
The middle-aged businessman has enlisted the London-based law firm Rosenblatt to pursue legal action against Apple, and the firm believes it can turn this into a class-action lawsuit. However, significant changes in UK law would be required for Apple to be held liable for the man’s visits to prostitutes, which led to his wife’s decision to seek a divorce.