- The United Kingdom has agreed to remove its request for an encryption of encryption in Apple iCloud, according to the American national intelligence director
- The power to undermine encryption, however, remains in British law under the law on investigation powers
- Apple killed the end-to-end encryption function in the United Kingdom in February, then challenged the order before the court
The United Kingdom has agreed to retreat to its request to create a stolen encryption door in Apple’s iCloud system for the authorities to access.
The American director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, confirmed the UK U-Curn in an article on X on Monday August 18, 2025, adding that such a stolen door “would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroachment on our civil freedoms”.
While welcoming the decision, digital rights experts are not entirely ready to call this a victory. The power to undermine encryption remains in British law, fueling calls for an amendment.
Uk’s U-Tour on the icloud stolen door
US officials, including vice-president JD VANCE, would have firmly opposed British order, warning against “systemic vulnerabilities” that such a rear door could create.
Although it is not a default functionality, once activated, Advanced Data Protection (ADP) of Apple provides an additional protection layer on all data stored by iCloud using end -to -end encryption technology, which even means that even Apple cannot access the files. It is an additional measure of protection that the British has not been able to use for months.
A spokesman for the British government told PK Press Club that the two countries had worked together to combat security threats and ensure that citizens’ privacy remains protected.
Apple has not yet shared more details on how and the time when ADP is set to be reintroduced for British users.
“A welcome stage”
US officials were far from the only part concerned about the negative impact that a stolen door in Apple’s advanced encryption could have had people’s privacy and safety.
More than 100 leaders, academics, organizations and Internet companies did the alarm only a few days after the authorities issued the stolen bearing order of encryption.
Encryption is a technology responsible for preventing unauthorized access to user data. More specifically, the best VPN and secure messaging applications use end -to -end encryption to ensure that online communications remain private between the sender and the receiver. A level of protection which becomes more and more crucial, because the major cyber attacks such as the attack of Typhon de Sel are now the norm.
This is why digital rights defense groups welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to retreat to Apple’s stolen door request.
🚨The home office would have agreed to lower its request that Apple authorizes the government to spy on encrypted messages. This is a welcome step to protect the privacy of millions of users in the United Kingdom. “We repeat our call to home office to abandon its use of technique… Pic.twitter.com/5sre83zhfvAugust 19, 2025
In an article on X, the acting director of Big Brother Watch, Rebecca Vincent, said: “This is a welcome step to protect the privacy of millions of users in the United Kingdom.”
That said, the power to issue similar encryption door orders remains a possibility in British law under the law on investigation powers.
This is why, according to experts, an amendment to these powers is what should come.
“We repeat our call to the Ministry of the Interior to abandon its use of technical capacity notices (TCNS) seeking to break encryption, which represents a serious threat to our ability to communicate in private,” said Vincent again, arguing that the law on investigation powers “is improper to the objective and should be modified to protect the rights of private life without delay”.
