Apple iCloud sparks divorce cases

Cloud-based software, including Apple’s iCloud, is providing a new way for people to learn whether their partners are cheating on them, according to a leading divorce lawyer.

Sam Hall, family law partner at JMW Solicitors, has received several enquiries in recent months, after people found incriminating messages or photos on shared cloud-based software which syncs with their mobile phones, tablets or computers.

In one case Hall is currently advising on, a married man in his early fourties was out for the night with male friends, who encouraged him to download Tinder and ‘look up’ nearby single women looking for dates. He also used Snapchat to exchange explicit photos with women, which continued in the weeks following the night out.

Unfortunately for the man, the photos and messages synced to the iCloud account he shared with his wife – which could also have been viewed by his iPad-literate son, aged just seven.

His wife monitored the account for a fortnight to gather evidence before confronting her husband, who she is now divorcing on grounds of unreasonable behaviour, also pointing out the emotional damage the couple’s son could have suffered had he seen the explicit photos and messages.

In another case, a teenager using a family iPad discovered incriminating messages and photos exchanged between her mother and a man with whom she was having an affair. The woman is being divorced by her husband on the basis of adultery.

These cases are two of half a dozen Hall has received enquiries about in recent months, prompted by the rise in popularity of iCloud and other cloud-based portals, which are often shared by couples.

"Technology is continuing to change the nature of relationships. Social networking and messaging apps make it easier for people to misbehave, where previously alcohol was often the mitigating factor in dubious behaviour," said Hall.

“At the same time, iCloud and other cloud-based portals are relatively new developments and so it is not surprising that many people are a little naive about how they work. In cases we’ve come across, behaviour which otherwise might have been kept secret has been revealed in some of the most unsettling ways imaginable."

He added: "This is the new reality for couples. While there will always be some people who will cheat or indulge in unreasonable behaviour, they should be aware that the chances of being caught out have never been higher."