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Apple has updated its policy regarding the release of push notification data to law enforcement agencies, now requiring a court order or search warrant, a shift from its earlier practice of complying with a subpoena.

Outlined in Apple’s publicly accessible guidelines, the company states that access to an Apple ID (a user’s account) and associated records linked to their push notification service will only be granted to law enforcement with judicial approval in the form of a court order or search warrant.

Previously, as reported by TechCrunch, Apple allowed law enforcement to access records associated with its push notification service through a subpoena, which can be issued by police departments and law enforcement agencies without the need for judicial authorization.

This policy change follows a communication from Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to Attorney General Merrick Garland. About a week earlier, Wyden had raised concerns after receiving information last year that foreign governments had requested Apple and Google for records on smartphone notifications. He emphasized the importance of informing users when governments seek access to their data.

Push notifications, used by both Apple’s own and third-party apps, are alerts sent to users. These notifications are not dispatched by the individual apps themselves but through the smartphone’s operating system provider. With Apple and Google acting as intermediaries in this process, they retain the data associated with these notifications.

It’s notable that Google has already been adhering to a policy requiring a court order for law enforcement to access data related to push notifications.