According to a report The Washington Post, Apple has reportedly been ordered by the UK government to create a backdoor that would grant security officials access to encrypted iCloud backups. The secret order, issued under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act of 2016—often called the Snoopers’ Charter—demands unrestricted access to encrypted files uploaded by any user worldwide, not just UK citizens. Even more concerning, Apple would be legally barred from informing users if their encryption were compromised.
By default, iCloud backups are not end-to-end encrypted. However, Apple introduced Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in 2022, allowing users to enable full encryption manually. In response to the UK’s order, Apple is expected to remove ADP in the UK altogether. But this still wouldn’t satisfy the demand for global access to user data.
If Apple complies, it sets a dangerous precedent—one that could lead to similar demands from other governments, including the U.S. and China. While the UK government argues this is necessary for national security, agencies like the FBI and NSA have recently endorsed strong encryption as a defense against cyber threats.
At Glacier, we’ve always encouraged our users to take control of their own security:
✔ Enable Advanced Encryption on your iPhone
✔ Turn off iCloud services for sensitive data
✔ Backup locally and use backup encryption
