Evernote App Has Eye on China

US-based Evernote plans to install Chinese servers for its app that allows users to create and access notes across devices -- a move that would improve service in the country but could increase the vulnerability of user content to government surveillance.

China is "the hardest" market to crack, Evernote Chief Executive Phil Libin said in an interview , referring to Silicon Valley's unsuccessful efforts to tap the world's largest base of Internet users. But he wants to "do the hardest one first, jump into the deepest end of the pool first -- that's how we tend to operate." Evernote plans to start operations in China as soon as it receives regulatory approval, Mr. Libin said, which would mark the second country where the Mountain View, Calif., company has installed data centers. Filters that Beijing requires on Internet content from overseas servers tends to make the service slow and unstable in the country. But operating a data center in China comes with risks. Chinese authorities have requested personal information about Internet users from private companies and used such information against dissidents.