Apple CEO Tim Cook tried to be as firm and transparent as possible about Apple's stand on data privacy and the amount of user data shared with the United States government.
"We've said that no backdoor is a must, and we've said that encryption is a must," said Cook on Wall Street Journal's technology conference, Fortune reports.
Cook, however, admits that there is a gag order on tech companies to be discreet on amount of data shared with the National Security Agency. Two years after Edward Snowden exposed the NSA data snooping, U.S. officials and Silicon Valley executives are still grappling with balancing privacy and national security, Forbes reported.
During an event at Laguna Beach, Cook and NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers shared contrasting views on internet privacy and security. Rogers argued that all parties should cooperate to collect intelligence that keeps everyone safe.
Going farther, Cook wrote on Apple's website to share Apple's ongoing efforts on securing its user's privacy.
"I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will," he wrote.
Cook reiterated that Apple values the customer's trust and protects its users data to strict policies and strong encryption. Apple's software, hardware, and services - including Apple Pay and iCloud - are built with privacy and security in mind.
The gadget maker continues to develop technologies to protects its clients from snoopers, including the government. The latest of which is the two-step authentication.
"We believe in telling you up front exactly what's going to happen to your personal information and asking for your permission before you share it with us. And if you change your mind later, we make it easy to stop sharing with us. Every Apple product is designed around those principles. When we do ask to use your data, it's to provide you with a better user experience," wrote Apple.
In addition, Apple promised to update their users on the best way possible regarding their security updates and other company changes.
Slightly dissing free online services which sell customer data, Apple assured it customers, "Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products. We don't build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don't monetize the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don't read your email or your messages to get information to market to you. Our software and services are designed to make our devices better. Plain and simple."
