Data Residency at DroneDeploy
Data residency refers to the physical or geographical location where DroneDeploy data is stored and processed in order to support our customers’ compliance with local data protection regulations. Please note that customers are responsible for determining which legal requirements apply to their business operations and how to comply with these requirements. Any descriptions of legal and compliance requirements contained herein are provided for general information purposes only, and do not constitute legal advice. Any questions about our data privacy compliance program should be sent to privacy@dronedeploy.com.
As described below, DroneDeploy uses localized data centers to host input assets, generated assets, and conduct local processing in the region specified in the special terms. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in customers’ contracts, DroneDeploy stores all data in US data centers. This includes the imagery provided by customers, processed data, and generated assets.
What customer data is regionalized with Data Residency?
Certain data is regionalized with DroneDeploy’s data residency program. This data includes:
- Customer Input Assets - mapping imagery, videos, progress photos, and overlays
- Data Processing - map, video, and walk-through processing, as well as data exports
- Generated Assets - map tiles, 3D models, as well as exported data and reports
Data Residency Architecture
For customers utilizing our data residency program, all data for processing or display is uploaded to a Google Cloud Storage bucket located in a customer’s local region. From there the data is transferred, with encryption, to Google Cloud servers in the customer’s local region for processing. Any outputs resulting from processing, such as maps or models, are pushed to another Google bucket in the customer’s local region. The application will then fetch from the local region and display data back to the user. Please note that metadata and certain platform-related data, like event metrics, logging details, and error tracking information is however stored in databases located on US-based servers.
Other Compliance Mechanisms
Data localization is one component of DroneDeploy’s multifaceted data privacy program in order to support our customers in their data privacy compliance requirements. For our EU and UK-based customers, DroneDeploy complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. Furthermore, DroneDeploy maintains a Data Processing Agreement for use by its EU- and UK-based customers.
Data Residency Limitations
Overview
DroneDeploy supports data residency requirements across multiple regions. As described below, certain features and storage/processing functions may occur on servers located outside of the local region in question.
Key Limitations
The table below outlines the features that are not regionalized. Please contact your DroneDeploy representative to confirm Data Residency for recently released features. Note all Beta products are subject to DroneDeploy’s Beta Services Terms.
| Feature | Description |
| Uploaded BIM Models | BIM model comparison for videowalks relies on Autodesk's cloud service for processing, which is located outside the customer's region. |
| Livemap | Generates map data, but does not involve high-accuracy processing. While available to customers, they should be aware that the resulting imagery will be stored on US servers. |
| HITL-Generated Custom Reports | Reports are created on request, and while available to all customers, the source data may be processed outside the customer's region. |
| Safety AI | Safety AI enhances construction site safety by automatically detecting OSHA risks using AI models from OpenAI. This tool helps reduce incidents and costs while integrating smoothly with existing workflows to provide actionable insights. While customers’ data will not be stored in the US, OpenAI uses the data to make inferences. It can be enabled for customers in other regions with the understanding that inferences will be made in the US. |
| AI Annotations | This new beta feature is not yet regionalized. Customers can participate in testing, but must understand that data will be sent to US servers during the process. |
| Unified Tile Layer / ESRI Integration | This feature aggregates map imagery, including high-accuracy data, making it unavailable to South Korean customers. It can be enabled for customers in other regions with the understanding that data will be stored in the US. |
Notes on South Korea
DroneDeploy features involving high-accuracy data may not be available to customers located in South Korea in order to comply with local data protection laws. If you are a customer located in South Korea and believe that these limitations do not apply to your business, please contact your DroneDeploy representative to discuss re-enabling high-accuracy data features.
Conclusion
While certain features can technically be enabled for Data Residency customers, DroneDeploy generally advises against this due to potential compliance issues. Enabling these features may also require updates to contracts that stipulate Data Residency agreements. For clarity and compliance, we recommend that customers carefully consider these limitations before opting to use features that involve data processing outside their designated region.