The Apple iMessage app and logo are seen in this photo illustration on 21 July, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Wayment! A British man wants Apple to see him in court after his iPhone allegedly failed to delete text messages he sent to sex workers.
At this time, reports have not revealed the businessman’s legal name.
According to the Telegraph, the British man’s wife discovered the inappropriate messages, which led to their divorce. The unfaithful man claims Apple isn’t clear that deleting messages on one device doesn’t remove them from others.
Complex reports that the middle-aged male is seeking $6 million from Apple, matching his losses from divorce and legal costs.
While speaking to the Times, the man stated that he believes he would still be married if the messages had been permanently deleted.
“If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted. My thoughts are if I had been able to talk to her rationally and she had not had such a brutal realization of it, I might still be married.”
The British man insisted that the tech company should have told him that deleting the messages only affected the device from which they were deleted, not all devices logged into his Apple ID.
“In my opinion it’s all because Apple told me my messages were deleted when they weren’t. If the message had said, ‘These messages are deleted on this device’, that would have been a clue, or ‘These messages are deleted on this device only’ that would have been even better,” he explained.
Additionally, the English man disclosed to the Times that he had engaged with sex workers during the final years of his marriage.
He reportedly used to contact the workers via iMessages on his iPhone before deleting the incriminating texts. However, when his wife accessed the family’s iMac, messages dating back several years popped up. All that time, hubby thought his texts no longer existed!
Metro reported that in addition to financial loss, the man also stated that the matter has dramatically affected his health. He mentioned that he was taking beta blockers to alleviate his panic attacks.
“I genuinely thought I was going to have a heart attack. Divorce is an extraordinarily stressful process and you have children and family dynamics. In my opinion it’s all because Apple told me my messages were deleted when they weren’t.”
The outlet also reported that the British man hired London law firm Rosenblatt for a no-win, no-fee class-action lawsuit.
Simon Walton of Rosenblatt stated that Apple has not been transparent about what happens to messages users send, receive, and delete.
“In many cases, the iPhone informs the user that messages have been deleted but, as we have seen, that isn’t true and is misleading because they are still found on other linked devices – something Apple doesn’t tell its users,” Walton said.
