IPhone and Blackberry Apps Make Adultery and Cheating Easier

Adultery and cheating used to be complicated by the issue of phone bill and electronic records being discovered by the significant other. Not anymore. Unique applications designed for use on iPhone and Blackberry devices are allowing adulterers and other cheaters to communicate incognito with each other, leaving no trace of their calls or text messages.

One such App, called TigerText, was launched on February 25th of this year for iPhone users. TigerText sets a defined lifespan for text messages that have been read. That lifespan can be a few hours or a few days, or it can even be "delete on read." When that lifespan is exceeded, the text message disappears from the recipient's phone, the sender's phone, and any servers. This is possible because the messages that come through are actually stored on TigerText's servers, and never on the recipient's or sender's phones. The program also comes equipped with a "delete history" option, which removes any electronic phone call evidence. This prevents curious parties from discovering a secret phone call by pressing a phone's automatic redial feature.

Jeffrey Evans, the Tigertext founder, insists that the name of this iPhone App was in place long before the Tiger Woods scandal surfaced (1). Even in light of the Tiger Woods scandal, Evans will not be changing the name of the iPhone App. He also maintains that the true purpose of the TigerText App was so that privileged parties- for example, a lawyer and client- could maintain confidentiality while discussing sensitive matters. Still, the use of the TigerText App in situations involving adultery and cheating is to be expected.

Another iPhone and Blackberry App, developed by AshleyMadison.com, does come with the intention of helping adulterers and cheaters get away with their infidelity. AshleyMadison.com, started in 2001, is a personals web site intended at bringing married individuals together for the purpose of conducting extramarital affairs. Members of the site can set up personal profiles, send e-mail messages to each other, and chat online. Recently, the site has also developed iPhone and Blackberry versions of itself. The AshleyMadison App can be loaded from a smart phone's Internet browser and therefore leaves no electronic evidence to be found by suspecting spouses.

Regardless of public outrage over technological advances that allow adulterers and cheaters to better get away with their infidelities, Noel Biderman, the CEO of AshleyMadison.com, reports that the site has seen its membership double in the last year to 4 million (2). Estimates of AshleyMadison.com's yearly profits run into the tens of millions of dollars. Also, female membership on AshleyMadison has recently doubled, moving from 15% to 30% since the site's launch.

References:

1.
TigerText: An iPhone App for Cheating Spouses? http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1968233,00.html?cnn=yes

2.
Cheating 2.0: New Mobile Apps Make Adultery Easier http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1907542,00.html