Apple Inc. is eradicating its most superior encrypted safety function for cloud knowledge within the UK, a shocking improvement that follows the federal government ordering the corporate to construct a backdoor for accessing consumer knowledge.
The firm stated Friday that Advanced Data Protection, an non-compulsory function that provides end-to-end encryption to a large assortment of consumer knowledge, is not obtainable within the UK for brand spanking new customers. The expertise had offered an additional layer of safety to iCloud knowledge storage, gadget backups, net bookmarks, voice memos, notes, images, reminders and textual content message backups.
“We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,” the corporate stated in an announcement. “ADP protects iCloud data with end-to-end encryption, which means the data can only be decrypted by the user who owns it, and only on their trusted devices.”
The unprecedented step comes two weeks after media retailers, together with Bloomberg News, reported that the UK authorities ordered Apple to construct a backdoor into buyer knowledge globally.
Without ADP, the UK authorities is poised to have a neater time requesting consumer knowledge — a probably alarming situation for patrons within the nation. The transfer additionally threatens to set a precedent that encourages different nations to push Apple to scale back safety.
A consultant for the UK Home Office stated it would not touch upon operational issues, together with “confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”
Apple beforehand known as a invoice from the UK Parliament that sought entry to consumer knowledge “unprecedented overreach by the government.” At the time, the corporate stated that “the UK could attempt to secretly veto new user protections globally preventing us from ever offering them to customers.”
Customers already utilizing ADP might want to manually disable it throughout an unspecified grace interval to maintain their iCloud accounts. The firm stated it’s going to problem extra steerage sooner or later to affected customers and that it would not have the power to routinely disable it on their behalf.
The transfer to drag its encryption function — reasonably than complying and constructing a backdoor — is a transparent rebuke of the federal government’s order.
“As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” Apple stated Friday.
“Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before” the corporate stated, including that it “remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom.”
Users who try and allow Advanced Data Protection will obtain a message on their iPhone, iPad or Mac that claims “Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users.” Bloomberg News revealed a information on how you can allow the function, which stays obtainable elsewhere globally.
The elimination of Advanced Data Protection within the UK will not take away end-to-end encryption offered by default for a number of different Apple options, together with iMessage, FaceTime, password administration and well being knowledge. Some trade watchers speculated that Apple might pull its providers from the UK altogether in gentle of the order, however eradicating the non-compulsory further safety is the corporate’s compromise — at the least for now.
Apple has a historical past of constructing modifications regionally as a way to hold providing its merchandise in these markets. For occasion, iCloud in China is operated by an area supplier, and it’s working with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on a content material filtering system as a way to supply its AI options within the area. At the identical time, it has pushed privateness as a guideline and fought the US authorities a few decade in the past when it requested the corporate to construct a backdoor into iPhone knowledge.
As a part of its order to Apple, the UK requested it for entry to international consumer knowledge, Bloomberg News reported. The mandate orders Apple to supply entry beneath the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act, a regulation that granted officers the authority to compel firms to take away encryption beneath what’s referred to as a “technical capability notice.” The regulation additionally makes it unlawful for firms to disclose when the federal government has made such an order.
“Protecting our users’ privacy and the security of their data is at the very heart of everything we do at Apple,” the corporate stated in response to the 2023 invoice from the UK Parliament that sought entry to consumer knowledge.
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
