iOS 8 is Still Years Behind Android

The privacy improvements in the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system provide necessary, but limited, protection to customers, experts say.

With the release of iOS 8 this week, iPhones and iPads configured with a passcode would encrypt most personal data, making it indecipherable without knowing the four-number password.

                                                   

By tying the encryption key to the passcode and making sure the key never leaves the device, Apple placed the burden on law enforcement to obtain a search warrant and go directly to the customer to get data from their device during an investigation.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data," Chief Executive Tim Cook said on the company's new privacy site. "So it’s not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Rival Google reacted quickly to Cook's comments, and announced that it would turn on data encryption by default in the next version of Android. The OS has had encryption as an option for more than three years, with the keys stored on the smartphone or tablet.