When I woke up this morning, my Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Mac Studio were all in the process of installing the latest beta update. I was already familiar with most of the features in this release such as Apples new FreeForm app, but perhaps the most significant change is Advanced data Protection For iCloud which should reassure all of those concerned about iCloud data security their data on iCloud is not only protected but their most critical data is not even available to Apple. (and is already creating a lot of push-back from police and security agencies.)

REQUIREMENTS:
  • Your Apple ID must have Two-factor authentication enabled
  • You will have to setup Account Recovery either a Recovery Key, a designated Recovery Assistant, or both.
  • All of the devices (Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, Home Pod, mini-pod, Apple TV) on the Apple ID account must be updated to macOS 13.2, iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, Watch 9.2, Pod 16.2 or later.


THE RESULTS ARE:
  1. All iCloud transfers are end-to-end encrypted¹
  2. All iCloud data storage is encrypted¹
  3. iMessages are en-to-end encrypted¹
  4. in the event of a data breach at Apple, your Device Backups, Messages Backup, iCloud Drive, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Safari Bookmarks, Siri Shortcuts, Voice Memos, And Wallet Passes are doubly encrypted and not even Apple can open them, any more than they can open the files in your iPhone.²


For those who have avoided iCloud out or concern for the security of their data, this seems about as strong protection as you can get.

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  1. Standard data protection
  2. Advanced Data Protection

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein