# WhatsApp: Data Localization

Cloud API Local Storage allows clients to control where their message data is stored at rest. If a company is in a regulated industry such as finance, government, or healthcare, they may prefer to have message data stored in a specific country when at rest, due to these regulatory requirements or company policies.

Clickatell now supports data localization, which means:

* With any **new** WhatsApp number that a client registers, they can select the country where their data at rest should be hosted. This is specified per number.
* Clients have the following options to select from:
  * **APAC**: India, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia
  * **LATAM**: Brazil
  * **MEA**: South Africa, Bahrain, UAE
  * **Europe**: EU (Germany), UK, Switzerland
  * **NORAM**: Canada, USA
* Once selected, clients cannot change the locale again.
* If nothing is selected, **Germany** is selected as the default.

{% hint style="info" %}
For more information, please reference [this page](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/overview/local-storage/) by Meta.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="https://guides.clickatell.com/~gitbook/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F2478193595-files.gitbook.io%2F%7E%2Ffiles%2Fv0%2Fb%2Fgitbook-x-prod.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fspaces%252FwmGaDUQBZMvcoFPmfgvf%252Fuploads%252F3rI0DWNEONvYmctmT27M%252Fimage.png%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D1e716461-aad9-4edb-ae63-6568f33fea53&#x26;width=768&#x26;dpr=4&#x26;quality=100&#x26;sign=b7c3990&#x26;sv=2" alt=""><figcaption><p>When setting up a new WhatsApp number you have the option to edit the location and choose from the provided locations.</p></figcaption></figure>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://guides.clickatell.com/release-notes/release-notes-archive/2024-release-notes/q3-2024/channel-updates/whatsapp-data-localization.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.