> they told the FBI to pound sand and made the hardware security features stronger so even Apple couldn't break them You didn't really believe that cheesy open

> they told the FBI to pound sand and made the hardware security features stronger so even Apple couldn't break them You didn't really believe that cheesy open letter, did you? The real reason they declined was because FBI innocently said “We can't bother to transfer phones to Apple all the time, just give us the tool, we've seen how it's done enough times, and can use it just the same. Here's the official demand.” If Apple did that, the next day the tool would be leaked to multiple other agencies and actors, and on the day after any stand on any Chinese market would offer the iPhone unlock and reset for a small price. In other words, the shattering of the legend of privacy protection marketed so hard, and financial trouble. The FBI effectively demanded to hold one of the keys to Apple's power, and was found not significant enough to be esteemed. Then they all pretended to have a legal fight to smokescreen the public. Apple itself said that it had always cooperated in doing the job on premises, and you can be pretty sure that every official case, semi-official case, and special case leaving no paper trail was routinely accepted. Apple was protecting its own secrets, not yours.