Apple Announces End-to-End Encryption for iCloud Messages, Photos, Notes, More

Apple has announced a new Advanced Data Protection feature that uses end-to-end encryption to protect data stored in iCloud.

iCloud already protects 14 sensitive data categories using end-to-end encryption by default, including passwords in iCloud Keychain and Health data. For users who enable Advanced Data Protection, the total number of data categories protected using end-to-end encryption rises to 23, including iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos. The only major iCloud data categories that are not covered are iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendar because of the need to interoperate with the global email, contacts, and calendar systems.

"Apple makes the most secure mobile devices on the market. And now, we are building on that powerful foundation," said Ivan Krstić, Apple's head of Security Engineering and Architecture. "Advanced Data Protection is Apple's highest level of cloud data security, giving users the choice to protect the vast majority of their most sensitive iCloud data with end-to-end encryption so that it can only be decrypted on their trusted devices."


Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is available in the US today for members of the Apple Beta Software Program, and will be available to US users by the end of the year. The feature will start rolling out to the rest of the world in early 2023.

A complete technical overview of the optional security enhancements offered by Advanced Data Protection can be found in Apple's Platform Security Guide, along with the data breach research "The Rising Threat to Consumer Data in the Cloud" by Dr. Stuart Madnick, professor emeritus at MIT Sloan School of Management.

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