Do you have an iPhone, Mac or other Apple products? No judgment here – I love Apple products and am currently typing on my MacBook Pro. At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (“WWDC22”) on June 6, 2022, Apple announced several exciting changes. However, two of them can immediately and substantially affect your family law case. Read on to see why.
Changes to iMessage in iOS 16
Ever since iMessage launched about a decade ago, many Apple users have preferred using iMessage over the SMS text message option when texting other Apple users. Its ease of sharing files and other perks have proved handy. Non- Apple users have been banned from various group chats, as iPhone users have seen the utility of sharing larger files and videos with others through iMessage, which is not compatible with non- Apple cell phones.
The recent WWDC22 announcement of the changes coming to iMessage with the iOS 16 update were met with instant approval as many people have been requesting this update. Users will now be able to edit or recall recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages, and mark conversations as unread so they can come back to them later.
How many times have you sent a message and THEN realized you made an embarrassing typo and wish you could unsend? This is a great update, right?
Not necessarily. If your divorce case is relying on text messages to submit as evidence of the opposing party’s conduct or communications, this is substantially a game-changer and may potentially sink your case.
Here are some examples:
• Domestic violence cases – your violent spouse/partner can send you inappropriate messages and then unsend them
• Child custody cases – your co-parent can agree to something, only to change their mind and edit their responses, making it hard to come to an agreement on anything
• Adversarial party can play games – they can now read your messages and then mark them as unread as a strategic way to claim that they never read your message even though they did (“I never saw the message that you wanted a trade request. Sorry.”)
New Safety Check Feature in iOS 16
Apple also announced at WWDC 2022 that it is introducing a new feature called Safety Check in iOS 16, which is meant to help victims of domestic violence. In this update, users will be able to manage app access, passwords, and can learn who has their passwords and information. It will help victims of domestic violence move on by helping the victim cut ties to an abusive partner by blocking the partner’s access across devices. Users will be able to review and revoke access for certain people across various apps including: Find My location, data, contacts, and more.
The new iOS 16 update is immediately accessible in beta form with the official update being released in the fall. As you won’t know which version of iOS your partner is using, it is imperative that you act now to preserve your evidence.
If you have a family law dispute, the expert guidance of a knowledgeable and experienced family law attorney to advise and strategize with you is imperative. If you would like to schedule a consultation with our office, please call us at (949) 234-8280 or visit our website at Divorce.Legal.
Remember: Having the Right Attorneys Makes the Difference.
Here are some links for further information on this topic:
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/06/apple-unveils-new-ways-to-share-and-communicate-in-ios-16/
https://www.theverge.com/23162491/vergecast-podcast-500-wwdc-2022-ios16-macos-ventura-m2
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/6/23156720/apple-safety-check-wwdc-ios-16
