Apple will no longer offer its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool to UK customers following a data privacy row with the UK government.
ADP is a tool offered to Apple customers that means only account holders can see things like photos or documents that they have stored online. Apple itself does not have access to the data.
However, the UK government requested the right to see the data earlier this month.
Read more: Apple ordered by UK government to let it access users’ encrypted data
In response, Apple has removed the tool.
“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,” said the tech giant in a statement.
“Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before.
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“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.”
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Apple customers who already had the data protection tool turned on “will eventually need to disable this security feature”, said Apple.
It is already unavailable for customers who weren’t using a feature, who now see a message reading: “Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users.”
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The government said it will not confirm or deny whether it requested a Technical Capability Notice, which is what would give it the right to see the encrypted data.
“We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such notices,” a Home Office spokesperson told Sky News.
According to a Home Office source, however, even if a TCN was issued, it wouldn’t give the government blanket access to people’s data.
Separate authorisations or warrants would still be required.
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