UK Home Office Orders Access to UK iCloud Backups

In early September the UK Home Office issued a technical capability notice directing Apple to provide a way for officials to access end-to-end–encrypted iCloud/Advanced Data Protection backups belonging to British users. The notice replaces an earlier, broader demand for worldwide access that provoked a diplomatic clash with U.S. officials and led Apple to suspend ADP enrollment for new UK users. Apple says it will never build a back door, has appealed the order to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, and has described its inability to offer ADP in the UK as “gravely disappointed”; a tribunal hearing is scheduled for January 2026. The Home Office says access is needed for national security and criminal investigations and declined to comment on operational notices. Privacy groups warn that weakening end-to-end encryption would jeopardize global user security, and the dispute is likely to intensify legal and diplomatic tensions.