Apple has started storing personal information of some of its Chinese users in the servers located in mainland China.
According to Apple, the company took the step to improve the speed and reliability of its iCloud service for Chinese users, as having data centres closer to user should result in faster service.
Apple has teamed up with China Telecom to store the data in the Chinese wireless carrier’s server; however encryption keys for Apple’s data will not be stored in China Telecom servers, eliminating the chances of security breach.
Microsoft also does not use servers within China for its e-mail service and, recently, some of the biggest US companies including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Apple have faced backlash in China.
For Apple, China is an important ally as its products are hugely popular amongst the Chinese users.
Sales of iPhone went up by almost 50% in the second quarter of 2014 in China, and by storing data within the Chinese soil Apple expects to improve its service as well as address regulatory concerns.
