Just take the side door, officer

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/19228571.65577/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB840c374b [Get the newsletter]( Hi all, it’s Josh. Apple Inc.’s ongoing fight with the federal government over encryption on its mobile devices took an interesting turn this week: Reuters reported that [the company had abandoned a plan]( two years ago to strengthen encryption on the personal data it holds on its servers. Had Apple gone through with the changes, it’s possible the Federal Bureau of Investigation would have even less information about the digital life of the Saudi Air Force member who killed three people at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida, in December. The question of how Apple encrypts iPhone data muddies the simple story line of a privacy-focused company butting heads with a law enforcement establishment fixated on security. Apple designs iPhones so that no one—not even the company—can unlock devices without a user’s consent. The government objects, saying it wants a backdoor to the phones for use in extreme cases, like the killings in Pensacola or the [2015 shooting in San Bernardino](. In turn, security experts say a backdoor would be disastrous and pave the way for rogue hackers and state actors to access more phones. But this week’s news is a reminder that a phone isn’t a singular lockbox holding its owner's secrets. Apple encourages iPhone users to back up their information automatically to iCloud. That means that in many cases, there’s a copy of all that sensitive information parked on Apple’s servers. Of course, that data is encrypted, as Apple [explains to its users](. That encryption protects the data in the case of hackers breaching the servers. But the company itself keeps a key. If faced with a warrant, it is sometimes willing to turn that key to help law enforcement. Apple’s decision not to add end-to-end encryption for iCloud backups maintains that side door. This so-called [iCloud loophole]( has been common knowledge for years. Users can turn it off for certain apps, or turn it off altogether. And an unlocked iCloud account doesn’t provide access to third-party applications in the way an unlocked phone would. But there’s still plenty there, and it appears to be accessible. When the Trump administration began attacking Apple for being unhelpful in the Pensacola investigation, the company said it had already shared the suspect's iCloud data. As Apple pitches itself as a privacy-driven company, this looks like a case where the Cupertino giant could have taken the maximalist stance on privacy and chose not to. (Maybe Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will explain this to Donald Trump when he [sees him for breakfast in Davos on Wednesday](.) But it's not entirely clear government pressure was the reason Apple didn't go through with its plan for end-to-end encryption. Such a move could have also left Apple with irked customers who couldn’t access their personal information. Whatever the reasoning, it’s worth remembering that law enforcement has plenty of options when it comes to digital forensics. Anyone with an iPhone is likely sending data not just to Apple’s servers, but also to app makers, which might independently cooperate with investigations. Then there’s the [whole cottage industry]( of companies constantly probing iPhones for weakness so they can sell their services to frustrated law enforcement officials. By refusing to build tech making it easier to unlock iPhones, Apple has made digital data harder to access in one specific way. But, thanks to the world the company has helped create, the FBI’s digital investigators have never had it easier. —[Joshua Brustein](mailto:jbrustein@bloomberg.net) If you read one thing Bloomberg has overhauled its coverage of climate issues with a new section: [Bloomberg Green](. There are some familiar faces in tech on the [Green 30](, Bloomberg's new roster of pioneers trying to solve the climate crisis, Elon Musk and Bill Gates among them. There's also a bracing [dashboard of climate-related data](, which is not for the faint of heart.   And here’s what you need to know in global technology news The Guardian has reported that Jeff Bezos's phone was hacked after receiving a message from Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman in 2018. After bin Salman sent Bezos an infected video file, the [report alleges](, "large amounts of data were exfiltrated from Bezos’s phone within hours." Uber is reacting to California's Assembly Bill 5, which seeks to re-classify many gig workers as employees. [The company is testing]( a feature that lets drivers set their own fares at airports, among other tweaks to the app. In earnings news on Tuesday, Netflix topped subscriber growth estimates for the last quarter, but said it expected to [gain only 7 million]( in the first quarter of 2020, less than analysts were banking on. How to think about unicorn valuations: They're probably [too high](.  Like Bloomberg's Fully Charged? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. 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