Apple removed the option for new users in the United Kingdom to activate Advanced Data Protection, its highest level of iCloud security, after the British government sought access to protected user data. The company said existing UK users would lose access to the feature at a later date.
Advanced Data Protection, or ADP, is an optional service that applies end-to-end encryption to additional categories of information stored in iCloud, including photos and documents. With that protection enabled, only the account holder can access the covered material; Apple itself cannot read it. Under standard encryption, Apple can access some stored data and provide it to law enforcement when presented with a warrant.
New activations in the UK stopped at 15:00 GMT on 21 February. Apple said it was gravely disappointed by the change and reiterated that it had never created a backdoor or master key for its products. The company said stronger cloud encryption was increasingly important and expressed hope that it could offer the protection again in Britain.
The Home Office would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the reported notice, describing such requests as operational matters. According to the BBC, the demand was issued under the Investigatory Powers Act, which can compel companies to supply information to law-enforcement agencies. The notice reportedly had worldwide scope, while Apple's product withdrawal applied only in the UK and ADP remained available elsewhere.
That mismatch left the wider dispute unresolved. US Senator Ron Wyden said removing encrypted backups for British users created a dangerous precedent and argued that the step might not satisfy the UK demand. WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart warned that requiring a global route into Apple's security would make users in every country less safe.
Privacy and cybersecurity specialists also criticised the outcome. University of Surrey professor Alan Woodward said the decision weakened security and privacy for UK users. Privacy expert Caro Robson described the withdrawal of a product instead of cooperation with a government as an unprecedented and potentially troubling model for other communications providers.
Child-safety advocates presented another concern. The NSPCC called on Apple to pair its approach to encryption with measures protecting children, arguing that end-to-end encrypted services can impede efforts to identify child sexual abuse material. Privacy specialist Emily Taylor countered that encryption underpins ordinary secure activities such as banking and private messaging.
The decision therefore did not settle the policy conflict. It reduced the strongest iCloud protection available to British customers while leaving the reported international demand, and the broader argument over lawful access to encrypted data, open.
