Urgent warning for iPhone users as Apple to remove highest level of data protection amid government security row
by Alice Padgett · LBCBy Alice Padgett
Apple will remove its highest level of data protection - meaning the government can access your iPhone data.
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Apple is to remove its highest level of data protection from customers in the UK following a Government demand for access to user data.
Data is usually stored in the iCloud with end-to-end encryption, which means that data can only been seen by the users that own it.
Reports earlier this month said the Home Office had issued an order asking for access to encrypted files stored in the cloud.
In response, the tech giant has now confirmed it was removing a tool called Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from use in the UK, which had meant only account holders could view files.
Apple said, in a statement: "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."
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The tech giant said: "Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature. 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.
"Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before. Apple 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. 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."
This comes days after Apple launched its new iPhone 16e.
The ‘more affordable’ handset is the first outside Apple’s flagship line-up to include its Apple Intelligence AI tools.
The iPhone 16e will go on sale on Friday February 28 in the UK, the tech giant confirmed, starting at £599 – £200 less than its current cheapest iPhone 16 device, which was released in September.
Kaiann Drance, working for Apple, said: "We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the line-up as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people."