# 24 Data regions (storage)

> v0.0.3 · role: Prevent · edition: Frontline, Business Std+, Enterprise Std+, Edu Std+, Essentials Plus · [policy: #15 (gap G3)](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nOztaPd1Y7eNeRSR_hdovYy-ncpx-bAx/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115159875779023172526&rtpof=true&sd=true)

Pins where covered Workspace data is stored at rest — the European Union or the United States — for organisations under a data-residency requirement. The policy applies immediately but existing data migrates asynchronously, the data-regions status report will tell you when the migration has finished. Coverage is a published list of services; this is a pure compliance control.

Documentation: [Data covered by data regions](https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/compliance/data-covered-by-data-regions)

## Caveats

- Several covered services (Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Contacts, the Docs family, Drive, Meet, Vault and Gemini) are covered at rest and processing, with processing coverage varying by edition; broader processing guarantees belong to the separate Enterprise data regions capability, so this screen alone does not entitle you to say your data is never processed outside the EU.
- Coverage is defined by a published list — Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Chat, Contacts, Meet (recordings/transcripts), the Docs family (including Drawings and Vids), Vault, Keep, Sites, Forms, Tasks, Classroom and the Gemini app; logs and cached content are explicitly out of scope.
- Migration of existing data can take weeks while the setting flips instantly — which makes the console misleading as evidence; the status report is the audit artifact.
- Available on Frontline Starter/Standard/Plus, Business Standard/Plus, Enterprise Standard/Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus and Education Standard/Plus; OU/group-level targeting is limited to the higher tiers.

## Setup steps

1. Select the top-level organizational unit and choose the storage region for covered data at rest. Applying the setting to specific OUs or groups requires Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Education Standard/Plus or Frontline Plus — on Business Standard/Plus the policy is effectively domain-wide only. — `Data › Compliance › Data regions`

   Data region = European Union (or United States); avoid 'No preference' if a residency claim is being made

   docs: [Choose a geographic location for your data](https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/compliance/choose-a-geographic-location-for-your-data)

2. Open the data-regions status report and confirm the migration has actually completed — the policy takes effect immediately, but existing data moves asynchronously and the report itself refreshes roughly every 24 hours and may not reflect policy changes made in the last 72 hours. — `Reporting › Apps reports › Data regions`

   - **Status** = all covered data in the selected region (no 'in progress' remainder)

   docs: [View your data regions status reports](https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/compliance/view-your-data-regions-status-reports)

## How to verify

1. Read the data-region policy per OU in the console, and spot-check a covered service’s region in the transparency report / data regions dashboard.

## Settings screens

- Data > Compliance > Data regions
  - console: https://admin.google.com/ac/managedsettings/155680775124/DATA_LOCATION_SETTING
  - screenshot: ../screenshots/admin.google.com/ac/managedsettings/155680775124/DATA_LOCATION_SETTING.png
- Reporting > Apps reports > Data regions (status report)
  - console: https://admin.google.com/ac/dataregions
  - screenshot: ../screenshots/admin.google.com/ac/dataregions.png