Keep sensitive UAE data in the UAE.

Protecto runs in your UAE data center or cloud region and gives AI models tokens, not real values.

UAE borderIllustrative

In the UAE

فاطمة المرزوقي

784-1985-1234567-1

Diabetes follow-up

Protecto

Name

Emirates ID

Note

Outside, optional

[PERSON_9e2]

[ID_5b2]

[HEALTH_3c1]

Only tokens cross the border. Real values, mappings, and keys stay in the UAE.

Trusted by regulated enterprises & agentic platforms

Case study result

Bank Muscat, Arabic and English data

Read the case study →

99%

Recall

96%

Precision

4 weeks

To a working proof

The problem

Your database stays in the UAE. The copies may not.

A Dubai clinic group builds an assistant that drafts replies to patient messages. The patient database stays in a UAE data center. But the model input, the vector index, the logs, and the vendor’s support team each hold a copy of the message, and not all of them sit in the UAE.

The need

Your team wants AI

Claims, patient messages, and loan files are where AI saves the most time. They hold Emirates ID numbers, names, and health or financial details, in Arabic and English.

The challenge

Sensitive data has to stay in the UAE

Health data may not be stored or processed outside the State without a Health Authority resolution (Federal Law No. 2 of 2019, Art. 13). Other personal data can leave only under the transfer rules in Articles 22 and 23 of the PDPL.

The gap

A UAE region does not settle it

Hosting the model in the UAE is one fact. Model inputs, logs, vector stores, and vendor support staff can still carry a copy to a place outside the country, and DLP that blanks every value breaks the AI.

The risk

One copy abroad is a transfer

Under the PDPL, sharing or processing personal data outside the State is cross-border processing (Art. 1). A log pipeline or a support engineer abroad can create one without anyone deciding to move the data.

How it works

What stays in the UAE, and what may leave.

A hospital’s agent drafts a reply from a patient message. Protecto runs in the UAE and sees every copy of the message, so the places outside the UAE only ever receive tokens.

Real timeProtects model input, vector index, logs, tool calls, and agent memory as data moves, not just stored files.

Tokens are still personal data. A path outside the UAE still needs a basis under Articles 22 and 23, and health data still needs the Article 13 resolution. An air-gapped setup has no outside path.

Choose your isolation

On-premises

Runs on your servers, in your UAE data center.

UAE cloud region

Runs in your cloud account, in a UAE region.

Air-gapped

No outside link. The model runs inside the same boundary.

Connect it to your agents

API or proxy

Call Protecto before the model, or route model traffic through it.

MCP and tool calls

Protecto sits in the path of tool calls, so agents keep their workflows.

Start with one flow

One use case, one Arabic data sample. Add flows as reviewers sign off.

Who can reach the data

Same record, four viewers. A person abroad sees tokens.

Sovereignty is about people too. Support teams, vendors, and engineers often work from another country. Protecto releases real values only to the roles your policy names, and every release is a logged decision (Arts. 7 and 20).

Clinician in Dubai

Needs the name and the note to treat

Name فاطمة المرزوقي
Emirates ID [ID_5b2]
Note Diabetes follow-up

Compliance officer, UAE

Full view for reviews and requests

Name فاطمة المرزوقي
Emirates ID 784-1985-1234567-1
Note Diabetes follow-up

Support engineer abroad

Fixes the agent, sees no one

Name [PERSON_9e2]
Emirates ID [ID_5b2]
Note [HEALTH_3c1]

AI model

Always works on tokens

Name [PERSON_9e2]
Emirates ID [ID_5b2]
Note [HEALTH_3c1]

Every unmask is a logged decision, so your team can show who saw which values, and when.

For your reviewers

Six rules that decide where AI data can go, and what Protecto does about each.

Moving health data out of the UAE without a Health Authority resolution carries a fine of AED 500,000 to 700,000 (Federal Law No. 2 of 2019, Art. 24). PDPL penalties are set by Cabinet decision (Art. 26). References are to Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (PDPL) and Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 (ICT in health fields).

Rule	Requirement	Protecto solution
Health data stays in the StateHealth Law 2/2019 Arts. 13, 24	Health data tied to services provided inside the State may not be stored, processed, generated, or transformed outside it, unless the Health Authority issues a resolution in coordination with the Ministry.	Protecto runs in the UAE, with real values, token mappings, and keys in your own environment. In an air-gapped setup the model runs inside the same boundary, so no health data goes outside.
Transfers outside the StatePDPL Arts. 1, 22, 23	Transfer, sharing, or processing outside the State is allowed to destinations the Bureau approves (Art. 22), or in listed cases such as a contract, the person's explicit consent, legal claims, or the public interest. The Executive Regulations set the controls (Art. 23(2)).	Real values stay in the UAE. If you send tokens to a model abroad, that path is still personal data and needs its own Art. 22 or 23 basis.
Sensitive data and impact checksPDPL Arts. 1, 10, 21	Health, biometric, family, religion, ethnic origin, and criminal-record data are sensitive. Large-scale sensitive processing needs an impact assessment and a Data Protection Officer.	Protecto detects 50+ entity types in Arabic and English, so you can show what a model sees.
Security and pseudonymizationPDPL Arts. 5(6), 7(1) and 7(2), 20	Technical and organizational measures suited to the risk, including encryption and pseudonymisation.	Tokens replace real values before data reaches a model, and they map back only under policy. Keys and mappings stay in your environment.
Processors and recordsPDPL Arts. 7(4), 8	Processors follow written instructions and must not disclose personal data except as the law allows. Controller and processor keep records that include cross-border movement.	The audit log shows what each recipient received, and it stays on your servers.
Breach noticePDPL Art. 9	Notify the Bureau, and affected people where their privacy is at risk, within the period the Executive Regulations set.	Real values stay out of models, vector stores, and logs, so there is less to expose. The audit log shows who saw what.

Outside the federal law: Art. 2(2) excludes health data that has its own legislation, personal banking and credit data that has its own legislation, and companies in free zones with their own data protection law, such as DIFC and ADGM. Their rules apply instead, and banks follow Central Bank of the UAE rules on outsourcing. Protecto’s in-UAE options fit a boundary your team controls.

The whitepaper maps every article and every data path, with what may leave the UAE and on what footing.

Case study

How Bank Muscat got to a working proof in four weeks.

Financial services

Data residency rules blocked cloud AI. A mix of Arabic and English data made it harder.

Bank Muscat wanted to adopt AI but could not send customer data to top cloud models, and its Arabic, English, and mixed-language text made sensitive data hard to find. With Protecto, sensitive data is masked by default and unmasked only under policy. The team had a working proof of concept in four weeks.

99%

Recall on sensitive data, including Arabic edge cases

96%

Precision, so useful text is not blanked out

4 weeks

From start to a working proof of concept

Bring one use case and one Arabic data sample. We will show it protected, inside your network.

Resources

Go deeper.

Whitepaper · 30 pages

UAE Data Protection for Enterprise AI and Agents

Identify the applicable privacy regime and protect data across AI workflows. A path-by-path map of what may leave the UAE, and on what footing.

Blog

What Is a Data Privacy Vault?

How vault-based tokenization keeps sensitive data out of AI workflows.

Read the post

Guide

How to Ensure Data Privacy with AI

A step-by-step guide to protecting personal data in AI projects.

Read the guide

Industry

Sovereign AI for banks

How banks use leading LLMs while keeping sensitive data inside their boundary.

See the solution

FAQ

Questions security and compliance teams ask first.

Does UAE law say personal data must stay in the UAE?

Not as one blanket rule for all personal data. Articles 22 and 23 of the PDPL allow transfers outside the State to destinations the Bureau approves, or in listed cases, with the controls left to the Executive Regulations (Art. 23(2)). Health data is stricter: it may not be stored or processed outside the State without a Health Authority resolution (Federal Law No. 2 of 2019, Art. 13). Banks, free zones, and government entities have their own rules. Confirm your position, and the current status of the Executive Regulations, with counsel and your regulator.

If our model runs in a UAE region, are we done?

No. Where the model runs is one fact. Model inputs, logs, vector stores, and vendor support can still carry copies to other places. List every path, who can reach it, and where they work. Protecto swaps sensitive values for tokens before the data reaches any of them, so the copies hold tokens, not real values.

Which law applies to us: federal, DIFC, or ADGM?

It depends on the entity. Article 2(2) says the federal PDPL does not apply to companies and establishments in free zones that have their own data protection legislation, or to health data and banking and credit data that have their own legislation. A group can fall under more than one regime. Name the controller and the regime for each data store.

Can we use a public model outside the UAE?

Protecto lets you send tokens instead of real values, which reduces what a model provider receives. Tokens are pseudonymized, not anonymized, so that path is still personal data and still needs a basis under Articles 22 and 23. Health data still needs the Article 13 resolution. If your reviewers will not approve an outside path, run the model inside the same boundary, for example air-gapped.

Can Protecto run with no internet connection?

Yes. Air-gapped is one of the ways to deploy Protecto, alongside on-premises and a UAE cloud region. In an air-gapped setup the AI model has to run inside the same boundary, so you host it yourself, for example with Ollama. Nothing in the flow needs an outside connection.

How hard is it to add Protecto to our existing apps?

Protecto is an API product. Your team calls the API before the model, or routes model traffic through Protecto as a proxy, and your existing app logic stays as it is. There is no new interface to roll out. Start with one AI flow and one data sample, then add more flows as reviewers sign off.

Does Protecto work on Arabic text and Emirates IDs?

Protecto detects 50+ entity types out of the box, covering personal data (PII), health data (PHI), and payment card data (PCI). It also supports custom entities, so you can add identifiers specific to your business, such as an Emirates ID format.

Will masking make the AI's answers worse?

Basic redaction can, because a blank placeholder tells the model nothing. Protecto uses consistent, format-preserving tokens, so the same person maps to the same token and the model can still tell who is who. Test it on your own data before relying on any figure.

Is tokenized data still personal data?

Tokenization is pseudonymization, not anonymization. Whoever holds the token mapping can reverse a token, so treat tokenized data as personal data unless counsel advises otherwise. The PDPL names pseudonymisation as a security measure (Arts. 7(2) and 20), not as an exit from the law. In a self-hosted setup, the mappings, the keys, and the model all stay inside the UAE for those flows.

Find where your AI sends sensitive data.

Bring one AI use case and one Arabic data sample. We will map every place its data goes and show what stays in the UAE, on your own servers.