Apple is removing its Advanced Data Protection feature from iPhones in Britain due to a government request to create a back door for law enforcement access to cloud data. The move comes after the British government demanded that the company install a tool allowing intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials to retrieve encrypted user data.
Starting this week, iPhone users in Britain will see a message on their phones stating that Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection, which allowed users to encrypt almost all of their iCloud data. The feature was introduced two years ago as a response to growing security concerns.
Apple’s decision is reportedly aimed at persuading the British government to drop its request for a back door into software products. However, there is a possibility that the government could continue to press for access to user data, citing potential security threats posed by overseas users.
The move marks a significant shift in Apple’s stance on encryption and follows a pattern of disagreements with governments over access to encrypted data. In 2016, Apple resisted the FBI’s request to unlock an iPhone used by an attacker who had killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California. The company has since marketed its devices as more private than competitors’, emphasizing that what is on an iPhone stays on an iPhone.
The removal of Advanced Data Protection raises concerns about the potential for catastrophic security breaches and the erosion of digital privacy. As Joseph Lorenzo Hall, a distinguished technologist at the Internet Society, noted, “Encryption is the glue and mortar that holds the bricks of our digital lives together.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/technology/apple-security-feature-uk.html