Apple removed iCloud end-to-end encryption for UK users by government order, creating demand for a client-side encryption layer

In February 2025 Apple withdrew Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from UK users after the UK Home Office issued a secret order under the Investigatory Powers Act demanding backdoor access to all iCloud data. ADP protected iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and other data with end-to-end encryption where only the user held the key. Without it, UK users' iCloud data is now accessible to Apple and, by legal demand, to the UK government. The MacRumors article got 568 forum comments and the Privacy Guides community immediately spawned threads on alternatives. The UK government later withdrew the global mandate but UK users remain without ADP. The gap is a mobile app that applies client-side encryption to files before they leave the phone and reach iCloud, so the user's data is encrypted regardless of what Apple does or does not offer at the platform level.