Unless the police want it. Then it’s available.
Do you have proof of this? Apple generally does not comply with requests for data unless legally mandated (which not all companies hold firm to, some just hand it over on request (Ring security… Any bells? 😂)). Additionally, they’ve made significant strides to enable E2E encryption across icloud and their devices, making the data inaccessible by anyone but the device owner.
If the police or government wants your phone records, including text messages, all they have to do is ask. Every phone carrier and company will provide everything when requested.
Source? Worked for a major carrier. More source? How do you think there’s always message records during trials.
Believing Apple won’t give away your entire history is as smart as using an Anon phone for drugs.
Please provide sources for occurances of this when E2E icloud encryption has been enabled and iMessage has been used. Additionally, I think you’re a bit deluded here by your experience. A carrier cannot possibly provide iMessage data, as they simply do not have it. iMessage is encrypted and uses standard tcp/ip protocols for communication. It is not an sms or RCS based service relying on unencrypted relay servers. I currently work for a law firm as a systems engineer so I’m intimately familiar with the legal data request processes. Things potentially worked like that 10-15 years ago, but your understanding is far out of date and out of touch.