Data Location & Processing
Files.com provides regional storage and routing controls, but selecting a storage region does not confine every use of customer information to that region. Assess the retained file, its transfer path, temporary processing, logs, and connected services separately when a contract or regulation imposes geographic requirements.
Retained Files
Files.com Native Storage holds files in the region selected for their folder. Subfolders inherit the parent's region unless an override applies. Review the site's default region and folder overrides together; changing a connection's routing does not relocate files stored elsewhere.
A Remote Server Mount leaves the authoritative files on the connected storage. A Sync creates a copy at its destination. Choosing remote storage therefore determines where the retained files reside, but does not establish where all transfers or processing occur.
Transfer Routing and Temporary Storage
Global Acceleration can receive a transfer in the region closest to the user before delivery to the selected storage region. Customers can configure regional routing instead. Remote Server routing and client connections also need to match the intended geographic boundary.
Mounts can stream contents through Files.com or temporarily buffer complete files in Files.com Native Storage. Required folder processing, including GPG, Auto Unzip, and Malware Scanning, can require buffering even when the mount's Buffered Uploads setting is Never. Installing the Files.com Agent does not, by itself, keep file contents out of the cloud: ordinary Agent transfers relay through Files.com, while supported clients can use optional Direct Transfers.
The regional configuration guidance explains these controls and the exception for native connections from another Files.com site. Data Paths & Storage provides the detailed transfer and processing boundaries.
Processing and Records Outside a Folder's Region
The following uses need separate consideration:
| Information or operation | Geographic consideration |
|---|---|
| Online document editing | Temporary storage and processing take place in the United States, regardless of the retained file's region. Files are not retained there beyond the editing session. |
| Activity and other logs | Logs are stored in the United States. Some specialized records, including AS2 message logs, contain file contents as well as metadata. |
| Snapshots and quarantined files | These copies use the site's default storage region, rather than inheriting a different region from the original folder. |
| AI Assistant and AI Tasks | Prompts, file contents, metadata, and tool results can be processed by Files.com's AI providers. A folder's storage region does not establish the location of that provider processing. |
| External applications and recipients | Connected storage, identity providers, notification services, integration platforms, and recipients have their own processing and retention arrangements. |
The AI data-handling explanation describes the providers and controls for Files.com's AI features. An external application connected through MCP has its own terms and processing practices.
Geographic Access Restrictions
Restricting the countries from which people can connect addresses access location. It does not relocate stored data, change a processing location, establish a person's citizenship, or govern a recipient's downloaded copy. Country controls use approximate IP geolocation, which can differ from a person's physical location when a VPN or proxy is involved.
Framework-Specific Configurations
Review geographic requirements against the actual workflow, including the operations enabled and every destination receiving a copy. The FedRAMP publication describes the specific United States configuration enforced by FedRAMP Security Mode. ITAR, CGR, and GDPR have different responsibilities and conditions; support for one does not establish suitability for another.