Apple Removes Advanced Data Protection for UK Users

Written by Aleksander Hougen (Co-Chief Editor)

Last Updated: 11 Mar'25

Apple has stopped offering Advanced Data Protection (ADP) for new users in the United Kingdom, effective Feb. 21, 2025.

This comes after the U.K. Home Office reportedly requested blanket backdoor access to all encrypted user data that Apple holds. Initially, neither the Home Office nor Apple were willing to comment on the issue, but now the tech giant has broken its silence.

“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,” said Apple spokesperson Julien Trosdorf in a statement to The Verge. “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.”

Advanced Data Protection is Apple’s end-to-end encryption feature, which can be turned on to protect user data, even from Apple itself. This feature relates mostly to iCloud files and backups, while other user data — such as passwords, health data, payment information and iMessage — use end-to-end encryption independently of ADP.

Rather than provide a backdoor into ADP — and thus jeopardize the security and privacy of users worldwide — Apple has made the decision to eliminate the feature for U.K. users altogether. It’s safe to assume that Apple hopes that this will put pressure on the government, and that public opinion will force a reversal of the original order.

The company is also likely to appeal the decision, but the process of such an appeal is also secret by law, meaning the only way we’ll find out about such an appeal is if there are more leaks. For its part, the Home Office still declines to comment on the matter.

For now, Apple users in the U.K. will have to manage without ADP, which means a lower level of security and privacy for users’ iCloud accounts. While the blanket restriction currently only applies to new signups, the company has already started gradually disabling the feature for existing U.K. users.

apple adp turned off UK — U.K. members of the Cloudwards Editorial Team have already had their ADP disabled.

What happens next is impossible to say, but we’ll be sure to cover every step of the saga as it unfolds. If you’re in the U.K. and have already had your Advanced Data Protection turned off, please reach out to us with your experience in the comments.