We already let you know that Apple has included in the new version of iOS 16.2 what has been called iCloud advanced data protection. This means that certain functions will have an extra layer of security in iCloud and with this, security and privacy will be gained. However, it seems that this new extra layer of encryption is temporarily disabled by Apple in those new terminals and those that are activated for the first time. It doesn’t happen in the old ones.
Apple does not want the Advanced Data Protection function to be affected
iCloud already encrypts certain data. There are others that don’t and Apple has solved that with the creation of a new mode called advanced data protection. With this new encryption, the encryption keys are removed from Apple’s servers. This means that not even the American company will be able to see these backup copies and therefore the key that you assign is essential. If you lose it or forget it, you will not be able to access to recover that encrypted data, thus losing valuable information from many applications on iOS. Now, it is a function that it is not activated by default so it is the user who must activate it. Logically, this is so because the user needs to provide the password we are talking about.
This is the key, having to activate the function. When Advanced Data Protection mode is released, thanks to iOS 16.2, it won’t be available to everyone. American users will be the first to be able to activate this functionality and for the rest of the world, it is expected to arrive in early 2023. However, those American users are finding that they cannot activate the function.
Excuse me, what?
Anyone else? pic.twitter.com/JVRm91Xzbd
— Will Sigmon (@WSig) December 7, 2022
This is because Apple has blocked that activation, temporarily, on new, newly purchased devices being activated for the first time. The same does not happen in those that were already working and have been updated to iOS 16.2, at the moment only developers have that possibility.
Apple intends with this measure, prevent a malicious actor from enabling the feature if a user is hacked. For what is being seen that the delay can even reach the end of January until the beginning of February. This makes one day from when you can reach the rest of the countries. It could perfectly well be mid-January.
