Video calls
Google Meet vs Zoom: which keeps data in Canada?
Where each stores and processes data, and who owns each company, from the vendors' own pages. Not features or prices.
The short answer
Google Meet: no.
Google Meet does not offer storage in Canada. Where it is processed: Outside Canada. It is owned by a US company, so the US CLOUD Act can require it to produce data it controls, wherever that data is stored.
Zoom: yes, if you choose it.
Zoom offers Canadian storage, but you have to choose it, and it may depend on your plan. Where it is processed: Paid accounts can choose Canadian data centres for real-time meeting traffic; traffic may still transit opted-out regions. It is owned by a US company, so the US CLOUD Act can require it to produce data it controls, wherever that data is stored.
Both are owned by US companies, so the US CLOUD Act can require either to produce data it controls, wherever that data is stored.
Side by side
| Claim | Google Meet | Zoom |
|---|---|---|
| Stored in Canada? | No | Yes, if you choose it |
| Where data is stored | No Canadian data region. Workspace data regions offered: United States, Europe, or no preference | Paid accounts can store cloud recordings, transcripts and in-meeting chat files in Canada; account data and operation data stay in the US |
| Where it is processed | Outside Canada | Paid accounts can choose Canadian data centres for real-time meeting traffic; traffic may still transit opted-out regions |
| Support and backups | Not stated on the pages read | Account and operation data are stored in the US (Zoom) |
| Owner | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) · Parent country: United States | Zoom Communications, Inc. (San Jose, CA) · Parent country: United States |
| Servers run by | Google data centres · US company | Zoom data centres including Canada · US company |
| Customer-held keys | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Certifications | Not recorded (blank means not checked, not none) | Not recorded (blank means not checked, not none) |
| Worth knowing | — | A large Canadian public-sector user (Alberta Health Services) runs an enterprise instance; that is AHS's configuration, not Zoom's default. |
| Caveats | — | Free accounts are locked to their home region. Phone participants, polling and live streaming have historically run in US data centres. |
| Tier | Tier 5: Data leaves Canada | Tier 4: US-owned, Canadian region |
| Checked | 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-13 |
Sources
Google Meet · checked 2026-10-13
- Where the data is stored: https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/compliance/choose-a-geographic-location-for-your-data
- Who owns it: https://cloud.google.com/terms/google-entity
Zoom · checked 2026-10-13
- Where the data is stored: https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0066473
- Who owns it: https://investors.zoom.us/resources/investor-faqs
- Supporting page: https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0060026