Apple has removed its strongest iCloud data protection for customers in the UK, as a refusal to comply with a government order demanding backdoor access to user data.

Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data. Advanced Data Protection (ADP) means only account holders can view items such as photos or documents they have stored online through a process known as end-to-end encryption.

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

Experts argue Britons are now less secure after their government effectively forced Apple to abandon end-to-end encryption

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 stored in the cloud.

Apple is scrapping its most advanced security encryption feature for cloud data in Britain, the company said on Friday, an unprecedented response to government demands for access to user data.

Apple Inc. is removing its most advanced encrypted security feature for cloud data in the UK, a stunning development that follows the government ordering the company to build a backdoor for accessing user data.

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