Waaqi
Personal Data Protection, UAE and Saudi Arabia

UAE PDPL and KSA PDPL, Governed in One Workspace

Waaqi helps organizations manage data protection obligations under both the UAE's Personal Data Protection Law and Saudi Arabia's PDPL, from DPIAs and cross-border transfer assessments to breach response workflows, with full audit traceability.

Book a demo Explore all frameworks
Framework at a glancePre-loaded
Jurisdictions covered
2
PDPL articles mapped
100%
DPIA workflows
Built-in
Breach timers
Automated

Control library, gap assessment, risk register, and audit packs ship ready on day one.

01Context

Why PDPL Matters

The UAE's Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 and Saudi Arabia's PDPL (enforced by SDAIA) represent the GCC's two most significant data protection regimes. Organizations operating across both jurisdictions face overlapping but distinct obligations, and both regimes carry sector-specific nuances: free zones like DIFC and ADGM add their own layers in the UAE alone. Enforcement is intensifying in 2026, with SDAIA issuing guidance and the UAE Data Office finalizing executive regulations.

Many organizations try to manage this with duplicated spreadsheets and disconnected DPIA templates, exactly the kind of fragmented evidence that fails under regulator scrutiny. Waaqi treats both PDPLs as governed workflows, not document exercises.

02Inside Waaqi

How Waaqi Supports PDPL

01

Gap Assessment

PDPL-aligned control scoring for both UAE and KSA regimes, with prioritized recommendations and automated policy generation tailored to data protection requirements.

02

DPIA Workflows

Built-in Data Protection Impact Assessment templates aligned to UAE PDPL and KSA PDPL requirements, with approval routing, evidence attachment, and completion tracking.

03

Risk and Controls

A risk register populated only through deliberate action, so every privacy risk treatment decision is intentional, timestamped, and defensible to the UAE Data Office or SDAIA.

04

Policy Generation Engine

Auto-generate privacy policies, breach response plans, and data processing agreements aligned to the applicable PDPL, in Arabic and English for KSA obligations.

05

Audit Centre

Evidence pack exports formatted for data protection regulators, with DPIA records, breach logs, and consent management trails centralized and audit-ready.

06

Data Residency

Deploy on Regional Cloud (UAE or KSA) or on-premises to align with data localization expectations, particularly critical under KSA PDPL's stricter transfer rules.

03Efficiency

Multi-Framework Efficiency

PDPL rarely exists in isolation. Most organizations also carry ISO 27001 certification, ADHICS (for UAE healthcare entities), or SAMA CSF and NCA ECC (for KSA-regulated sectors). Waaqi's configurable control library lets you assess once and satisfy overlapping data protection and cybersecurity requirements across every applicable framework.

Practical next steps: DPIA Template for UAE PDPL, UAE PDPL Fines and Penalties in 2026, and UAE PDPL Compliance Guide 2026.

04Workspaces

Relevant Waaqi Workspaces

Privacy workspaces with pre-mapped obligations, registers, and regulator-ready reporting.

UAE PDPL Workspace

Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 obligations pre-mapped, with RoPA builder, DPIA workflows, and cross-border transfer assessments.

Open workspace

KSA PDPL Workspace

SDAIA implementing regulations, DSR intake and SLA tracking, and breach notification playbooks for the Kingdom.

Open workspace

NDMO Workspace

Saudi national data management domains with personal data protection specifications aligned to PDPL.

Open workspace
05FAQ

Questions we get asked

Both are personal data protection laws with similar foundations, but they differ in scope, enforcement bodies, breach notification timelines, and cross-border transfer rules. The UAE PDPL applies federally with free-zone carve-outs (DIFC, ADGM have their own regimes), while KSA PDPL is enforced by SDAIA with stricter data localization requirements. Waaqi's configurable control library tracks both frameworks separately while letting you share controls where obligations overlap.

Yes, if you process personal data of UAE residents, regardless of where your organization is headquartered. Waaqi's data mapping module helps you identify which processing activities trigger UAE PDPL obligations and tracks your compliance posture for each.

UAE PDPL penalties are set by Cabinet resolution and can be significant for serious breaches. KSA PDPL carries fines up to SAR 5 million for disclosure violations and up to SAR 3 million for other breaches, with doubled penalties for repeat offenses. Beyond fines, both regimes can restrict data processing activities, an existential risk for data-driven businesses.

Yes. Waaqi's configurable control library lets you map both PDPL regimes in the same workspace, tracking framework-specific obligations (breach timelines, DPO requirements, transfer mechanisms) while reusing shared controls like data classification, access management, and incident response across both.

See your PDPL gap assessment in a live walkthrough

Book a session and we will show both PDPL regimes mapped side by side, with DPIA workflows and breach timers running in a sandbox tenant.

Request a demo