apple icloud reset end to end encrypted data meaning

Apple states which iCloud services are E2E and these services I'd argue are pretty straightforward to setup and not lose. It may be the case that people prefer E2E but this is not evidence of it.įurthermore, I don't believe iCloud backups were ever E2E and that it was a feature that was removed. You're assuming that people choosing iCloud over not-iCloud means people do not want E2E. However, Apple does not give the option to choose E2E or not so users cannot make that choice of privacy vs convenience. People are certainly choosing convenience over privacy in that any backup is preferable to no backup. Until then, I won’t be taking their privacy claims at face value.You're conflating the convenience of backing up vs being able to access data even with lost recovery keys. I hope this is wrong and Apple gets its act together to use end-to-end encryption for all user data - it’s long overdue. law enforcement and lawmakers:Īpple dropped plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company’s iCloud service after the FBI complained that the move would harm investigations, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. If you believe a January 2020 Reuters report, they tradeoffs sound more like convenient excuses to not risk another confrontation with U.S. These are real tradeoffs, but I don’t think they’re reason enough for Apple not to offer end-to-end encryption, at least as an option. Some users will lose their most precious data when they lose their devices and decryption keys, and Apple won’t be able to recover it for them.Accessing your iCloud data through a web browser on may become impossible.I understand that using end-to-end encryption for everything comes with its own problems: government agencies (and possibly other governments?) can potentially access it. In other words, if you use Apple services as intended and recommended by Apple, a large portion of your most sensitive data is in fact not securely encrypted. Bookmarks (your Safari history and open tabs are end-to-end-encrypted).Messages ( de facto when iCloud Backup is enabled because the backup contains a decryption key for the messages).

Here’s an incomplete list of data sources in iCloud that are not end-to-end-encrypted: The key phrase is while they’re being sent.Īnd it’s not just iCloud backups. Screenshot from Apple’s privacy marketing page.

Apple icloud reset end to end encrypted data meaning