When a business sends and receives WhatsApp messages through Meta’s Cloud API, Meta stores the content of those messages. By default, the Cloud API stores it in the United States. Meta’s local storage setting lets a business choose another region for that data at rest, and the UAE is one of the countries on the list.
For a government entity, a clinic or a bank’s partner, the question comes up early: where does our WhatsApp data live? Here is what the setting does, in plain words.
What local storage covers
According to the providers’ documentation of Meta’s feature:
- It applies to text messages, media messages (audio, images, documents and videos) and template messages.
- It is set per WhatsApp business phone number.
- It works on the Cloud API and on Meta’s Marketing Messages API.
- The countries and regions on the list include the UAE, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, the European Union, the United Kingdom and others.
What it does not cover
- Data in use. While a message is being processed, its content may be stored in Meta data centres outside the chosen country. On the Cloud API this period lasts up to 60 minutes; after that, the content is deleted outside the region and kept only inside it.
- Coexistence numbers. A number that runs on the WhatsApp Business app and the API at the same time cannot use local storage.
- Your own systems. The setting is about Meta’s copy of the messages. Where your CRM, your team’s phones or your inbox keep data is a separate question.
That is why we do not promise that WhatsApp data never leaves the country. The accurate sentence is: you can choose the UAE as the storage region for the message data Meta keeps at rest.
How to choose the UAE in MonoChat
- In MonoChat, add a WhatsApp Business channel.
- Before you press Connect New Number, the form shows the Data storage region. Press Change and choose the United Arab Emirates.
- Connect your number with Meta as usual.
The list in MonoChat includes the UAE, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Germany, the United Kingdom and other regions.
When you need more control
Some organisations need every part of the system under their own roof. MonoChat can run on-premises, on your own servers or cloud, so the inbox, the customer records and the reports stay with you. Meta’s storage of the WhatsApp messages themselves is then still set by the local storage region above.
A short checklist
- Decide which of your WhatsApp numbers carry sensitive conversations.
- Keep those numbers on the API only, without the WhatsApp Business app, if you want local storage.
- Choose the UAE region when you connect each of them.
- Check with your regulator or legal adviser what your sector requires: this article explains the setting, not the law.