GDPR, DPDP, and other laws mandate data stays in region. Geo-partitioning by region satisfies compliance AND puts data close to users.

EU userUS userIndia userAPAC userEU shardFrankfurtUS shardVirginiaIndia shardMumbaiAPAC shardSingaporeGlobal metadatauser → regionCompliancedata staysLow latencyclose to user
Geo-partitioning: users routed to regional shard for compliance + latency
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The mechanic

User's registered region determines shard. All their data in that region. Cross-region reads rare + expensive.

The mechanic

User's registered region determines shard. All their data in that region. Cross-region reads rare + expensive.

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Data residency

GDPR: EU data in EU. DPDP: Indian citizen data in India. Regulators check.

Latency wins

User in Mumbai queries Mumbai shard. 10ms vs 150ms across ocean. Better UX.

Cross-region features

Some features need global view (search all listings). Federate queries or maintain global replica of hot data.

Migration complexity

User moves EU→US? Move their data or fork it? Legal nightmare. Design carefully.

Region-per-user shard. Regulatory + latency compliance. Cross-region features are the hard part.