Went down husband’s phone

So would it generally be less of an issue to snoop on partners phone if it’s about whinging to family/ friends about partner, which I guess many of us do and more of an issue if it’s about a suspicion of something going on. I admit I whinge to my sister about things DW says and does , not overly bothered if she saw them, sure she whinges too, but it’s definitely another thing when it’s messages bordering on emotional abuse to a member of the opposite sex

This.

No matter what: you don't trust him. Your relationship has digressed to snooping through phones. Once it's hit that stage : it's over. Regardless of anything else.

Be careful not to sound like a second-year..... 😉

I asked the question and MemorableTrenchcoat answered.

I’m sure it does, but PP asked if there was any such crime. Why is this so hard for you to comprehend?

I cant believe some of the responses on here.
You did nothing wrong to snoop. You suspected he was up to something. People on here make me laugh. What would you have done then? Sat him down and expected the truth? Hed have lied

Op, up to you what to do but I know what id do.
Male banter is one thing...I get that...but his only reason not to is because if his seniority at work? What he should've had said well no im married but shes fit. Etc.

So if I were you id think..right, if he or her moved teams and he didnt lind manage..then what? Obviously hed cheat.

you’ve done nothing wrong op. So you can share finances, share a bed, be a whole married couple but I’m not allowed to look on your phone if I have a strange feeling as “it’s private” 🤔 the previous posters can crack on living in naive land then but if I suspect my dh of cheating I’m looking though his phone! how is that any different to the women hiring private investigators? Isn’t that breaching his privacy too then?

id be wondering if his friend knows he has cheated before the way he so brazenly asks if he’s going to crack on with her? This is literally micro cheating and I would be very suspicious that it wasn’t the first time or things had not gone further with anyone else.

If it is “male banter” I would think he’s a disrespectful, untrustworthy man at the very least, to be saving other women’s pictures and the emoji used.

I would not bring this up to him if you are not planning on leaving him, there’s no point. Just have your wits about you and know this is how he behaves, plus he’ll probably be more secretive moving forward.

I wouldn't be happy seeing that on my partners phone! Sounds like he definitely could have cheated in the past

You sound like an 18 year old who is in their first year at law school and just discovered a statute book.

Law works very different in practice. Just stop.

of course it’s human nature to be curious but that isn’t really justification for invading his privacy like that

obviously he has done wrong, even if it was just those messages being banter it’s inexcusable. but I think going through someone’s phone is toxic behaviour

my partner doesn’t show or talk about his emotions much so I can understand how it’s challenging, however it’s never occurred to me to go through his phone because I trust him

if you trust someone so little that you’re going through their personal things, why bother being with them?

The talk of this being a crime is by the by- I also think the police wouldn't prosecute as it wouldn't be in the public interest. Going through a spouse's phone really isn't all that much unless, say, there's abuse or identity theft going on.

There also doesn't seem to be a definition of 'computer' in the Act but I can't see why it wouldn't include a phone capable or sending or recieving texts etc. That's totally part of what a computer does.

I’m simply responding to the claim that there is no crime of accessing someone’s computer, including their smartphone, without authorisation.

The chat is grim, his attitude is grim, he might not have got anywhere with this 22 year old but to so brazenly chat about trying it on suggests his friend knows him as someone who has or would cheat.

Checking the phone is a non issue, lots of people here think it’s a gross invasion of privacy but I don’t, it’s just a phone, I’ve got nothing to hide on mine, anyone, my friends, kids, husband can take a look.

Don’t be daft. Mobile phones have evolved from simple radios to very sophisticated computers, significantly more powerful than even the supercomputers of the 1970s and ‘80s. They are absolutely covered by this act.

Surely this would be deemed a waste of police time even if it is technically illegal? Do you think that OP reading her DH's sleazy, disloyal messages means that she deserves to spend up to 2 years in prison? Some people are positively gleeful and salivating at the prospect of OP being punished.

No, it's not always already dead.

No it's not! And reading your spouses phone, even if it were considered a computer (which it's not) is not the same as a hacker trying to enter a computer or database.

A mobile phone is a little computer!

a valuable lesson I learned the hard way is that if you feel the need to look through somebody’s phone, the relationship is already dead

That is for a computer. Not a mobile phone.

That article is about things like hackers.

Nothing remotely to do with spouses using each other's mobiles.

And I'd really love to see a husband try to go to the police and want his wife charged for reading his phone. No police is going to be arsed even considering that bullshit!

So, no, it is not a crime.

Perhaps, but PP doubted it was a crime, and I have quoted the legislation which shows it is, in fact, a crime, and has been for decades.

I think the police have more crucial things to do than arrest someone for having a quick look through their spouses phone, however.

And I hope you fall head first into a bucket of shit. What a spiteful, victim-blaming post that was.

Thank you. The section (for anyone interested) is here:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/18/section/1

The offence requires that a person cause a computer to perform a function to (among other things) secure access to data without authorisation. I imagine that authorisation can be implied through (for example) circumstances and the habits of spouses.

(cross-posted)

You’d be wrong.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/18/section/1

I'd wager that spouses are exempt.