Marco della Cava

USA TODAY

Apple's recent announcement that it would no longer unlock iPhones at the request of law enforcement officials was meant to calm data-concerned customers, but it has drawn the fire of top government officials.

FBI director James Comey said Thursday that officials were in talks with both Apple and Google about backing down from their decision to not share user information, citing instances such as child kidnapping and terrorism where access could save lives.

Both tech giants announced last week that user data would be encrypted. While government officials could still listen in on a call, they would not be able to access information stored on the devices. Officials from both companies couldn't be reached for comment.

Their moves come at a time of increasing public concern about data security.

After iCloud was hacked, many celebrities found that nude photos of themselves stored in their private accounts were suddenly floating around the Web. Credit card breaches have recently become a minor epidemic, compromising the systems of major companies such as Target and Home Depot.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made the announcement that the company would deny government access to phone data in a letter on Apple's website.

"At Apple, we believe a great customer experience shouldn't come at the expense of your privacy," Cook wrote, then taking a jab at Google, whose Gmail email service serves up ads based on consumer interests.

Cook added that Apple didn't create user profiles based on "your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers" or "read your email or your messages to get information to market to you."

With the new release of iOS 8, iPhones now encrypt content stored content. "Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data," Cook said.

The move to reassure consumers is especially critical for Apple now that it is pushing deeper into this space with the addition of a health monitoring and payment system in iOS8.