[woodruffw]

My understanding is that iCloud backups are encrypted[1].

[1]: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303

[wonderbore]

Encrypted but they have the keys so they can serve it to anyone who asks. That’s why “end-to-end” is subsequently mentioned as an “additional” step for certain data. It should all be end-to-end like iCloud Keychain is, at least on demand.