Apple drops new Safari bookmark end-to-end encryption

Less than two weeks after apparently introducing end-to-end encryption for bookmarks in Safari, Apple has dropped the additional protection.

In early October 2021, Apple's support documentation was updated to show that Safari bookmarks had been updated to have the same end-to-end encryption as, for example, Apple Card transactions, and even Memoji. Now, however, the same documentation has removed this, and bookmarks are again listed as encrypted only "in transit & on server."

Neither change was actually announced by Apple. So it is possible that the documentation was updated in error, and that error has now been corrected.

End-to-end encryption would have improved security as iCloud synced bookmarks between a user's device. Apple's own documentation describes end-to-end encryption as providing "the highest level of data security."

Apple, and all big technology companies, have consistently been under pressure to drop end-to-end encryption entirely, and allow governments and law enforcement access to all data.

12 Comments

gatorguy 24597 comments · 13 Years

About 3 years ago

Based on somewhat recent events I'm nearly convinced there's some intense behind-the-scene pressure from various agencies around the world that is leading Apple to compromise privacy plans, while another big tech is forging ahead anyway and paying the consequences in antitrust actions on two continents.

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

gatorguy said:

Based on somewhat recent events I'm nearly convinced there's some intense behind-the-scene pressure from various agencies around the world that is leading Apple to compromise privacy plans, whole another big tech is forging ahead anyway and paying the consequences in antitrust actions on two continents.

Yeah, let’s all switch to Android/Chrome so we can be safe. Coffee snorted out of my nose when I read your b.s. post

lkrupp said:

gatorguy said:

Based on somewhat recent events I'm nearly convinced there's some intense behind-the-scene pressure from various agencies around the world that is leading Apple to compromise privacy plans, whole another big tech is forging ahead anyway and paying the consequences in antitrust actions on two continents.

Yeah, let’s all switch to Android/Chrome so we can be safe. Coffee snorted out of my nose when I read your b.s. post

Now that you've had time to clear your nostrils and head, I'll pose the easiest question to you first:
What would be your explanation for Apple dropping plans to E2EE your iCloud account while Google does so anyway despite possible repercussions?

Yeah, it requires an actual thought process from you rather than *snort, LOLZ*.

tehabe 70 comments · 6 Years

lkrupp said:

gatorguy said:

Based on somewhat recent events I'm nearly convinced there's some intense behind-the-scene pressure from various agencies around the world that is leading Apple to compromise privacy plans, whole another big tech is forging ahead anyway and paying the consequences in antitrust actions on two continents.

Yeah, let’s all switch to Android/Chrome so we can be safe. Coffee snorted out of my nose when I read your b.s. post

Except that Chrome let you encrypt Chrome sync data with an separate passphrase. It is embarrassing that Apple is dropping this feature.

rcfa 1123 comments · 17 Years

Might be a simple case of documentation being completed before the feature was rolled out.

There’s also the question of how older versions of iOS and macOS would handle that in a compatible way. E2E would presumably require some protocol changes, and while Safari on macOS can be updated independently from the OS, i(Pad)OS can’t do that for baked in apps.

So this may have to wait until the adoption of iOS 15 is high enough, and then be announced as a feature available only to users who have all their devices up to date…