AP EXPLAINS: Apple v FBI, is my iPhone safe?

NEW YORK (AP) — On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Apple Inc. to help the FBI hack into an encrypted iPhone used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in December.

The clash brings to a head a long-simmering debate between technology companies whose business relies on protecting digital privacy (except, ahem, where advertising is concerned) and law enforcement agencies who say they need the ability to recover evidence or eavesdrop on the communications of terrorists or criminals to do their job.

While the judge on the case says the government is only asking for help unlocking one, single iPhone, Apple says the case is much bigger than that and sets a dangerous precedent.

In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes.

[...] ultimately, the case could set the standard for just who has access to private data — the private message, photos and other data you store on your phone — and could cause millions of smartphones users to rethink what they store on their phones.