OpenAI has announced that it will offer data storage in Europe. This will allow ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Edu users to keep their data within European borders, which is important for compliance and data privacy. Also, the data residency option is going to apply to the API platform.
The new data residency option should make it easier for companies operating in our region to meet local regulations and requirements. This is supported by AES-256 encryption for data at rest and TLS 1.2+ encryption for data in transit. Additionally, data protection mechanisms provide the ability to achieve compliance with privacy regulations, including the GDPR.
APIs and ChatGPT
Effective immediately, it is possible for API users to enable data processing in Europe for appropriate endpoints. They can do this by creating a new project and selecting Europe as their region. API requests from these projects will be processed in the region with zero data retention, OpenAI assures. As a result, model requests and responses are not stored on the OpenAI servers. It is now only possible to configure new projects for this option. Existing projects cannot be updated for European data residency after creation.
New ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users have the option to keep customer data in Europe. As a result, data is stored at rest on servers in our region. This includes conversations with ChatGPT and custom GPTs in an Enterprise or Edu workspace. Also, prompts, uploaded files and content remain in the region.
With this move, OpenAI is responding to the growing demand for local data storage in Europe. In doing so, the company is following the example of other tech companies that have previously set up European data centers for their services. For enterprise customers, this means more control over their data and ability to comply with local regulations.