You probably caught wind of what was probably the biggest data protection news last month: Apple have removed Advanced Data Protection (ADP) for UK users. This somewhat unanticipated move follows a request from the UK government for Apple to allow police and security services easier access to data hidden behind ADP when necessary. Instead of simply allowing the government to have a “backdoor” to this data, Apple have opted to remove the feature in the country altogether.
This could very well assist the government’s goals to achieve better law enforcement due to simplified access to information that criminals are keeping locked away. However, it may also do unprecedented damage to the trust that Apple users have in the devices they use every day, particularly when considering privacy is a key part of Apple’s branding and promises.
What is Advanced Data Protection (ADP)?
Advanced Data Protection is a tool used by Apple that grants an extra layer of encryption to data that users store in their servers. Information stored in iCloud using ADP will be completely inaccessible to anybody except the account holder, even by Apple themselves (unless they’re legally compelled to gain access). In fact, even if you lose your account, you won’t be able to recover your ADP-shielded data. It’s that secure.
Having access to such a tool gave Apple users across the globe a bit of reassurance that their data was safe. When stored using ADP, it would seem like that information was locked inside a vault with steel walls 20 feet thick – completely impenetrable. And now, with Apple removing this feature for users in the UK, this feeling of safety and security may begin to dwindle.
Why did Apple remove the tool altogether?
The government only requested what’s dubbed a “backdoor” to this encrypted data, so why did Apple completely snatch the feature away instead of complying with the request?
Well, for starters, if they had done what the UK government asked for, it would have set a less-than-ideal precedent. Other governments around the world would have likely pursued the same treatment, until eventually, a much larger number of nations’ law enforcement officials had a handy little peephole into Apple users’ information. And while it doesn’t sound that bad on paper, since the data would only be accessed on an individual basis for specific purposes (i.e., not everybody would have their data visible to the government at all times), this would pose a rather significant cybersecurity concern.
Experts have warned that a backdoor would create a vulnerability that could be exploited by bad actors, and I’m sure we can all agree that cyber criminals don’t need even more ways to get their hands on our stuff.
But even though Apple opted to do the safer thing and remove the tool rather than poke a hole in it, it’s still news that will have its users questioning whether they feel comfortable trusting Apple with their data anymore.
Tech companies are seeming increasingly untrustworthy
I know I’m not alone in being a little paranoid that one day, my files and photos will be leaked. It seems to be a common fear these days – a result of the creeping distrust that consumers are experiencing towards tech companies. For instance, a survey from April 2024 revealed that 9 in 10 respondents believe that companies often prioritise profit over protecting their customers’ data.
Look at Meta sharing their plans to end fact-checking programs, or X revealing that they’d be using your posts to train their AI. The corporations that we rely on for news, conversations, and leisure seem to prove more and more every day that if there’s benefit to be had in putting market leadership and financial gain over its users being well-informed and safeguarded, then that’s the direction they’ll head in. And in such a climate, Apple pulling one of its most secure methods of data protection for a huge percentage of its user-base can only sink that trust even further, despite it arguably being the lesser-of-two-evils option.
I’ll feel less comfortable storing my data in Apple’s servers
I can’t speak for everyone, but for myself, I can safely say that following a worrying move like this, I certainly won’t feel as happy storing my data on iCloud. No matter what the data actually is – whether it’s super sensitive information or completely innocent photos of nature, dogs, and my travels – that information is for my eyes only (unless I share it online of course – some of it’s too good to be private!). Now, with that extra layer of protection out the window, I’ll have to rethink what I do with my data. Whether or not I’ll stop using iCloud altogether, I haven’t decided, but what I can say for a fact is I’ll definitely be thinking twice if I use it again.
