With all the talk about government wiretapping, spying and requesting data from communications providers, it’s no surprise that Apple (News - Alert) was also approached with requests to share data on its customers. Thankfully, the company says the data from iMessage, Facetime and other similar programs are encrypted and do not store the data in any way that can be retrieved or identified.

While the exact details of the government’s requests for information, and the responses the companies they asked gave, is vague and unclear at times, it has caused quite an uproar. As such, many companies are providing as much as they’re allowed to the public regarding the requests they received and how they rejected them.

The latest to deny providing any personal information is Apple, which said that from December of 2012 until the end of May 2013, it received thousands of requests from US law enforcement for customer data. Specific devices or accounts were named, but the requests were mostly for purposes such as investigating robberies, looking for missing children and Alzheimer’s patients, or even finding someone before they committed suicide. The fact that these tend to be good causes puts some minds at ease, but only some.

Each time, Apple’s legal team evaluated the request for consistency and provided the least information it could. Some information, though, it couldn’t give anyone even if it wanted to. iMessage and FaceTime (News - Alert) conversations are protected by end-to-end encryption, which not even Apple can decrypt. Information such as Siri requests, Map searches, and location aren’t even stored at all, so there’s no way to retrieve that. Apple also stated that it doesn’t provide any government agencies with access to its servers, and any customer content requests need a court order.

While this may help alleviate some concerns, it doesn’t change the issues with government agencies requesting customer data in the first place. Still, Apple at least seems to be acting responsibly about what information it does provide and for what purposes the information is being used. You can rest assured knowing that your FaceTime chats with friends and family are kept between only those involved in the call; just don’t use instant messenger to plan a crime.