Data Residency
Definition
The physical or geographic location where data is stored and processed, relevant to privacy regulations and compliance.
Data residency refers to the jurisdiction in which user data physically resides. Different countries and regions have different regulations about where certain types of data (especially personal data) can be stored and processed. GDPR in Europe, for example, restricts the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area.
For voice applications, data residency is particularly important because audio recordings of speech are considered biometric or personal data in many jurisdictions. On-device processing sidesteps data residency concerns entirely — if the audio never leaves the user's device, it is always stored in the user's jurisdiction. This is a key privacy advantage of Ummless's architecture.