Ex read private messages

[anotherdisaster]

My ex is awful. He has spent the last 2 years making my life hell. This weekend he has the kids and I had no clue my phone was linked to one of their ipads. He has sat and read my personal messages, taking screenshots of them to prove it. I am beyond disgusted. I think I have managed to unlink the device now but the damage is done.
I haven't said anything yet while the kids are still there as I don't want to wind him up until they are home.
I'm not sure how to handle this, it really is the last straw.

How do you know he has read them?

Because he took a screenshot of a conversation between me and a friend and sent it to me!

This kept happening to my husband, his phone linked to the family iPad and his texts kept popping up. What a nightmare for you, was it a new boyfriend situation or had you said anything about him personally or is it more mundane stuff that can be more easily brushed off?

Awful. I'm so sorry OP. would you feel comfortable reporting this to the police? Even if you just report it online. He's not allowed to read your emails, and sending it to you in a screenshot could be deemed as harrassment. In what other ways is he making your life hell?

There would have been loads of stuff he could have read. Me talking about my new partner, slagging him off etc. I dread to think. I have deleted everything now but I genuinely feel so violated.

would you feel comfortable reporting this to the police?

Genuine question - what would this be reportable as? He hasn’t hacked her messages, which would be an offence - he’s just read messages on his child’s device, which happened to be linked to her phone. Unfortunate and immoral, but not illegal, I don’t think?

@twinkletits99 thanks, I've spoken to a solicitor friend and sadly its no illegal as he didn't hack into them. But a violation of privacy and highly unethical.
He is generally vile to me on a regular basis and more so since I got a new partner. Despite him having a new girlfriend who has met our kids.
He refuses to be flexible having the kids and has only just started paying full maintenance and only because I had to go to the cms.

@shellsandsunrises this is why I ask about the other ways in which he's been making her life hell.

I would strongly suggest you start printing everything off, keep it in a folder, go back as far as you can go and consider taking out a non molestation order, if it really is that bad. Nobody has the right to make someone else's life hell. If he was being vile to you whilst in a relationship, it would be deemed as abuse. Ask him to stop messaging you unless it's something to do with the kids.

He has used threatening language in the past too and I have kept ALL of his messages. I always try to be the bigger person and ignore him and not rise to it. On this occasion I feel like need to stand up for myself.

At the end of the day, you shouldn't have to put up with it. It's hard for people to advise as we don't know the relationship (for all we know, you're just as bad - not saying you are, just that you could be). But if he truly is being this nasty and vile regularly, and you are simply putting up with it to avoid confrontation, it needs sorting out. He needs to stop so you can relax and carry on with your life. No communication between you unless it's about something necessary aka the kids

Infuriating that he’s got such an insight into your life this way, I’d be furious in your shoes too but as you’ve said it’s probably not illegal so the only thing you can do is brazen it out, don’t give him the power to get at you, don’t discuss and try and forget to yourself that it’s happened when you have to have contact with him. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, he should be embarrassed for being such a sneaky little man. If you have to talk about it ask him why does he even want to know these details about your life, why hasn’t he moved on etc.