Mainland China’s exemption from Apple’s new “private relay” feature may push many users to register for Apple IDs in Hong Kong so they can enable the privacy function.

Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook introduced the new private relay feature during the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicked off early last week.

The function encrypts users’ web-browsing data and ensures that third parties, including Apple and network providers, cannot access such information, Cook added.

The function, however, will not be available in some countries, including mainland China, Belarus and the Philippines.

Soon after the announcement, many websites in mainland China published guidelines on how to apply for an Apple ID in Hong Kong or other regions so as to enable the private relay feature.

Chinese authorities have recently put the nation’s internet usage under tighter scrutiny, including by embedding police in web groups to heighten censorship and prevent subversion. Internet users in China have been known to use VPN to overcome the “Great Firewall” and access foreign websites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google.

The “private relay” feature can block advertisers from intercepting users’ online browsing data and can also protect users’ internet freedom, said Francis Fong, the honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation.

A surge in Apple ID registrations in Hong Kong will not affect users in the city, Fong said. As there were still differences between Hong Kong and mainland China in terms of internet freedom, Fong believed that Apple would not block the private relay feature in Hong Kong in the short term.

Hong Kong enjoys a greater degree of internet freedom than mainland China, where online materials are often censored.

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