Washington ( CNN ) -- Apple and Google have won praise from privacy proponents for efforts to encrypt their latest smartphones in a way that would prevent law enforcement from accessing certain private data . The FBI , not so much . Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told reporters Thursday that the agency is talking to both companies to raise concerns that their privacy efforts could hinder criminal investigations . Apple last week touted that with release of its latest operating system iOS8 , it no longer could bypass the smartphone user passwords . `` So it 's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8 , '' Apple said in a blog post . Google quickly followed suit , saying it already had such technology in phones running its Android operating system , but that `` as part of our next Android release , encryption will be enabled by default out of the box , so you wo n't even have to think about turning it on . '' Comey said that he was `` very concerned '' that the companies were `` marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law . '' Revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of government mass surveillance programs has posed problems for U.S. tech companies , which are required by federal law to cooperate with surveillance program requests . Concerned that the revelations will damage their businesses , particularly in foreign markets , the companies have taken a more public role in pushing back on the surveillance programs . Yahoo , which fought a losing court battle against some surveillance requests , recently won a fight to make public secret court documents detailing that battle . The company used the information to tout its efforts to protect the privacy of its customers . The FBI director said he understood the privacy concerns in the wake of Snowden . But he noted that the FBI sometimes has an urgent need to access data , such as in cases of kidnappings or terrorism . Comey said he supports the idea that the FBI should have a warrant from a judge to take a look into someone 's closet , or smartphone , but added he could n't support `` the notion someone would market a closet that would never be open . ''
Apple and Google announce encryption programs designed to protect customers ' privacy . Comment: Privacy issues have been at the forefront since the Edward Snowden leaks .