Apple on February 21 withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature from the United Kingdom following government demands for backdoor access

The UK's demand for an encryption backdoor in iCloud, and Apple's response, have repercussions that go far beyond national borders, threatening user privacy and security worldwide.

Security officials argue that encryption hinders criminal investigations, while tech firms defend it as essential to user privacy.

A backdoor into iCloud end-to-end encryption would defeat the purpose of the feature, so Apple is pulling it from the UK altogether.

Apple says it will stop offering an advanced data security option for British users after the government reportedly demanded that the company provide backdoor access for any data those users have stor

In an unprecedented step, Apple caved to a reported U.K. government’s demand to prevent users from using end-to-end encryption in iCloud.

Apple Inc. took the unprecedented step of disabling optional Advanced Data Protection in the UK on Friday, removing a feature that used end-to-end encryption to secure cloud storage and other features.

Apple's decision to withdraw iCloud end-to-end encryption in the United Kingdom has privacy and security advocates worried that the British government could scan

Apple is known for its strict data protection practices, but the company has been forced to downgrade its security in the UK. Any UK users who have not already enabled its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) encryption will now lose the opportunity to do so.