Announcing Data Residency for Email (EU): Local Data, Global Trust

Announcing Data Residency for Email (EU): Local Data, Global Trust

As businesses grow beyond borders, so do their responsibilities, especially when it comes to protecting customer data. In today’s privacy-conscious world, customers want transparency, regulators demand compliance, and legal and procurement teams expect answers. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Data Residency for Email in the European Union (EU). This new capability allows our customers to primarily process email data  including sending and event information, within the EU.

This launch reflects Twilio’s broader mission to power trusted communications, giving businesses greater control over where and how their data is stored without sacrificing the performance and scale they’ve come to expect from Twilio SendGrid.

Meeting the rising demand for regional data control

In fact, Twilio’s Global Messaging Engagement Report shows that email has remained the most preferred branded communication channel among global consumers for four years running. This year, 68% of respondents ranked email in their top three preferred channels, up from 54% the year before. But as reliance on email grows, so does scrutiny. From recipient addresses and subject lines, to message content and engagement activity, these details are increasingly subject to complex privacy and localization laws. Regulations have made one thing clear: for many organizations, data can’t just be secure. It must remain local.

Historically, SendGrid’s infrastructure defaulted to US-based storage. For customers with data residency requirements, this often meant navigating cross-border transfer frameworks, creating exceptions in internal policy, or adding contractual safeguards. With Data Residency in the EU, that complexity has been removed.

What to expect from EU-based email infrastructure

With this new capability, eligible customers can process their data, from opens and clicks to bounces and unsubscribe, everything is primarily processed within infrastructure located in the European Union. 

Despite the shift in storage location, the experience remains the same. Customers  continue using the same SendGrid API, templates, and analytics tools. The difference is greater assurance that customer data stays in the region of choice, supporting an organization’s privacy posture and local regulatory frameworks.

“As a global leader in social listening, Mentionlytics depends on reliable, compliant communication to serve customers across continents. Twilio’s SendGrid API delivers exactly that, with EU-based data processing that supports our GDPR commitment and the high-performance infrastructure we trust to scale. It's the perfect match for a fast-growing, privacy-first SaaS company like ours.” Nikolas Margaritis, Head of Growth, Mentionlytics. 

Compliance and performance without compromise

At Twilio, trust and performance go hand in hand. Our infrastructure is built to support massive scale, delivering more than 190 billion emails each month in 2024, and 64 billion emails sent just during Cyber Week alone,we know how to keep  communications fast and reliable.

Data Residency in the EU brings the same high standards to customers with regional data needs. Unlike partial solutions from other providers, which may only localize sending infrastructure, Twilio’s approach ensures that email event data is processed primarily within the EU. This eliminates the need for additional workarounds and gives teams confidence when responding to regulatory inquiries or customer audits.

Built for privacy-first businesses

For large enterprises with a strong European presence, or companies headquartered in the EU, an independent software vendor expanding into EU markets, or a privacy-conscious company prioritizing data governance, Data Residency helps remove friction. If legal or procurement teams have ever paused an initiative to ask where customer data resides, this capability provides a clear answer.

It also supports forward-looking businesses that want to differentiate on trust. As data localization becomes a need, an email program that has data residency can strengthen customer relationships and accelerate sales cycles.

“As a Swiss-based e-recruiting software company, data privacy is one of our top priorities," said Lukas Locher, CTO, Dualoo. “By processing emails within the European Union, we can improve response times and ensure greater transparency when handling customer data. This is also why we moved to Twilio's European data residency solution as soon as it was launched.” 

Laying the groundwork for the future of trusted communication

Data Residency in the EU is part of a broader investment Twilio is making in regional infrastructure and privacy-first architecture. This is not just about keeping up with regulations. It’s about giving our customers more choice and control in how they engage with their users around the world.

This feature is a building block for sustainable growth in privacy-sensitive markets. It empowers businesses to move faster, win trust more easily, and unlock new opportunities that might otherwise be closed off due to compliance constraints.

"Many of our clients require in-region data residency to comply with current EU regulations. Twilio’s strong commitment to GDPR compliance and secure infrastructure makes them a trusted partner for delivering communication solutions in sensitive environments." Luca Vahrenwald, Senior Pre Sales Consultant, Pinuts digital thinking GmbH

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the same domain across both global and EU regions?

Yes, but the first step is to configure and authenticate the domain separately for each region by selecting “Make domain EU-pinned” in the advanced setting. That means setting up SPF, DKIM, and domain verification in both environments.

How does Data Residency meet GDPR compliance?

All Twilio emails are GDPR compliant regardless of data residency. Email event data such as: opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and especially recipient email addresses are considered personal data under GDPR. With Data residency, that data will be stored in and primarily processed within the EU. This data will only leave the region if prompted or required for engineering issues.  

Can I achieve data residency by sending emails through a parent account or global subuser?

Unfortunately, no. Sending through a parent or global subuser, even with an EU IP address, defaults to the global endpoint (api.sendgrid.com), which routes data outside the EU. The requirement is to send via an EU subuser using the EU API endpoint for data to be stored and processed in the EU.

Where is EU data stored?

For details on data processing and storage please visit this link.

How to get started

Data Residency for Email in the EU is available now to eligible SendGrid customers on Pro and Premier Packages. To get started, create a subuser that’s regionally designated for the EU. Then, assign an EU based dedicated IP address and configure sending domains.

With Data Residency for Email (EU), businesses no longer have to choose between meeting regional compliance requirements and delivering powerful customer engagement. Now they can have both, because where data resides should be their decision. Visit our latest blog to learn how to get set up (How to Send Emails with Twilio SendGrid on EU Servers) or check out our data residency docs.