With iOS 8, what Apple has basically done is put the keys to unlocking our phones into our hands. Prior to this, the company and many other companies out there like Google, could unlock our devices and access the information remotely. Now that is no longer possible in an ongoing effort to return privacy to their customers.
In fact law enforcement agencies like the FBI are not happy with these new encryption policies and if you are wondering if Apple or Google could cave in anytime soon, that does not appear to be the case. According to a report from Reuters, Apple has recently told a US judge that it is pretty much impossible to unlock newer iPhones from their end that are running iOS 8 or later.
The courts had recently asked Apple for their help in access data on a seized iPhone, in which the Cupertino company reiterated that unlocking new iPhones was impossible. However they did state that while they had the technical ability to unlock older devices, such as the one that had been seized, they urge the court not to comply with the Justice Department’s request.
According to Apple’s lawyers, “Forcing Apple to extract data in this case, absent clear legal authority to do so, could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand.”