Introducing Dynova
DPO as a Service in the UAE:
Your named Data Protection Officer of record
Dynova provides an outsourced Data Protection Officer to companies in Dubai and across the UAE as one monthly subscription: a named DPO of record, a privacy team that keeps your records of processing, runs the DPIAs and answers data subject requests, and breach response when it counts. UAE PDPL, DIFC, ADGM and GDPR compliance gets built, not described.
One monthly subscription for the whole privacy programme
A DPO (Data Protection Officer) is a named, independent officer who owns your data protection compliance and is your contact point for regulators and data subjects. UAE PDPL, DIFC, ADGM and GDPR all allow you to appoint an external one.
Your Dynova DPO:
▸ Maps your data and keeps the records of processing.
▸ Runs DPIAs before high-risk processing starts.
▸ Writes notices, policies and vendor DPAs.
▸ Handles data subject requests inside the deadline.
▸ Leads breach response and regulator notification.
Combine with vCISO role
Privacy and security are one programme in practice, from vendor contracts to incident response. Your DPO works alongside our privacy analysts and security engineers, so records get written and requests get closed without waiting on your team's spare capacity. Add the vCISO and one team runs both.
Access to Privacy Platform
Track your privacy programme in our GRC platform, included in the DPO service. Records of processing, DPIAs, data subject requests, vendor DPAs, framework compliance, consent records and regulator correspondence in one place, each with an owner and a deadline.
COMPLIANCE
We build the privacy programme itself, not a folder of templates: data inventory, records of processing, notices, consent, DPIAs, vendor contracts and request handling. We run the gap assessment, implement the controls, and act as your contact point with the regulator.
Working under a different law? Ask, we likely cover it
Official service provider partner
Hub71 Service Provider
Shorooq Service Provider
Privacy Gap Assessment
Data inventory, records of processing and a gap analysis against UAE PDPL, DIFC, ADGM and GDPR, with a prioritised remediation plan.
DPO of Record
A named, UAE-based Data Protection Officer on your notices and regulator filings, accountable for the outcome.
Policies, Notices and Contracts
Privacy notices, data protection policy, retention schedule and vendor DPAs, written and rolled out.
DPIAs and Transfer Assessments
Impact assessments for high-risk processing and cross-border transfers, documented and signed off before go-live.
Requests and Breach Response
Access, deletion and objection requests handled inside the deadline; breach triage and regulator notification when an incident hits.
Training and Reporting
Staff awareness training and quarterly reporting on requests, incidents and compliance status that the board actually reads.
Compare
Stop paying a law firm by the hour for privacy questions, or naming an office manager as DPO and hoping. Get a Data Protection Officer who is accountable for the outcome, matched to your sector and your regulator.
Traditional Approach
Law firm hourly rates, no implementation
An employee named DPO with no time and no training
Templates downloaded, never operated
Offshore DPO with no UAE regulator experience
Named DPO of record, UAE-based
Records, requests and breaches handled by our team
One subscription, privacy platform and team included
PDPL, DIFC, ADGM and GDPR experience, local presence
Pricing
*Save 10% on yearly plans.
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FAQ
Does my company need a Data Protection Officer under UAE PDPL?
Only in three situations. Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 requires a DPO where processing creates a high risk to the confidentiality and privacy of personal data through new technologies or data volume, where it involves systematic and extensive evaluation of sensitive personal data including profiling and automated processing, or where large volumes of sensitive personal data are processed. Consumer platforms, health and insurance data, biometrics, credit scoring, large CRM databases, video analytics in public spaces and AI-driven profiling usually fall inside. Many small B2B companies fall outside, and still get asked for a named privacy contact by enterprise customers, banks and investors during due diligence. Tell us what data you process and we will tell you which side of the line you are on.
What is DPO as a Service?
DPO as a Service means an external privacy professional is appointed as your Data Protection Officer under contract instead of being hired as an employee. Outsourced DPO, virtual DPO, fractional DPO and DPO of record describe the same arrangement. The appointed person owns your records of processing, privacy notices, lawful basis, data subject requests, impact assessments, data processing agreements with vendors, breach notification and contact with the regulator, and is named publicly as the privacy contact for your organisation.
How much does a Data Protection Officer cost in the UAE?
A named DPO from Dynova starts at $1,900 per month. Combined with a vCISO it is $4,500 per month on the Builder plan, which adds security strategy, hands-on implementation, certification preparation and the GRC platform. Standalone DPO runs on a 12-month term billed quarterly, because most of the work lands in the first quarter and the output stays with you. Hiring a full-time privacy officer in the UAE costs several times that once salary, visa, and cover during leave are counted.
Can we outsource the DPO role, or does it have to be an employee?
Outsourcing is allowed. UAE PDPL lets the DPO be appointed from inside or outside the organisation and sets no employment requirement, and DIFC and ADGM take the same position. What regulators look at is independence, competence, and whether the person is reachable and can answer for the organisation. Location is where the regimes differ: the federal PDPL accepts a DPO based inside or outside the country, while DIFC expects the appointed person to be present in the DIFC. Our DPOs are based in the UAE.
Do we have to register our DPO with the regulator?
Yes, in all three UAE regimes, and the DPO's contact details also have to appear in your privacy notice so data subjects can reach them directly. Onshore, the controller or processor provides the details to the UAE Data Office. In DIFC the appointment goes to the Commissioner of Data Protection and is confirmed in the annual filing. ADGM notifies its Office of Data Protection. We prepare the filings and appear as the published contact, so privacy complaints reach us before they reach your support inbox.
Are the DPO requirements different in DIFC and ADGM?
Yes. DIFC operates under Data Protection Law No. 5 of 2020 and ADGM under the Data Protection Regulations 2021, each with its own thresholds, its own regulator and its own filing duties. Both require a DPO for public authorities and for entities carrying out high risk processing on a systematic or regular basis, and both require the appointment to be notified. Onshore entities follow the federal PDPL and report to the UAE Data Office instead. A group with companies in more than one regime needs one privacy programme and separate registrations, not three parallel efforts.
What does a Data Protection Officer do, month to month?
The first quarter is build work: data mapping and records of processing, a gap assessment against the applicable law, privacy notices, a retention schedule, procedures for data subject requests and breaches, data processing agreements with your vendors, and staff training. After that the role becomes recurring and smaller. We handle data subject requests inside the statutory deadlines, run impact assessments when you launch a product or onboard a vendor, assess cross-border transfers, review marketing and cookie practices, report to management each quarter, and act as the point of contact when a regulator or a data subject comes back to you. For most startups the steady state runs at a few hours a month, with spikes around launches, audits and incidents.
Can the same person act as our vCISO and our DPO?
Yes. UAE PDPL does not require the two roles to be held by different people, and DIFC and ADGM do not either. The constraint is independence: a DPO must be able to challenge how the business uses personal data, and must not be the one deciding the purposes and means of processing. Those decisions sit with your executive management and business owners, not with an external appointee, so an outsourced vCISO who also serves as DPO stays on the right side of the line. Combining them also removes the handover between security and privacy that slows most compliance programmes down.