The UK has dropped its demand for special access to Apple’s cloud systems, also known as a “backdoor,” following negotiations with the Trump administration. This decision comes after months of secrecy surrounding the British government’s secret demand from Apple.
In February, The Washington Post reported that the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016 had triggered a request for a backdoor to access encrypted data on iCloud users who had enabled Advanced Data Protection (ADP). ADP turns on end-to-end encryption for iCloud, meaning only the user can access their files stored on Apple’s cloud servers.
The demand sparked outrage and condemnation from privacy and security experts worldwide, who argued that it would weaken global privacy. In response, Apple removed ADP from the UK and provided guidance to existing users on how to disable the feature.
Apple had also challenged the backdoor mandate in court, a case initially kept secret but later ruled public. The company had previously stated that it has “never built a backdoor or master key” to any of its products or services and would not do so.
The UK’s decision follows negotiations with the Trump administration, led by US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard. According to Gabbard, the agreement involves the UK dropping its mandate for Apple to provide a backdoor into protected encrypted data.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/19/us-spy-chief-says-uk-has-dropped-its-apple-backdoor-demand