Azure Face AI || UAE NORTH Region -

Question

I am using Azure AI Face Service for tagging. The Face API resource is deployed in UAE North on the Free tier. Face detection is blocked in this region and tier and returns a 403 – Unsupported Feature error.

Is this feature not available in UAE North for photo tagging? In this case, if we use Azure Face AI Service from another region, does it mean that a temporary copy of the photo is sent to the Face AI region, the Face AI service processes the image, extracts face coordinates, and the photo is immediately discarded?

I have strict compliance requirements that do not allow sending photos outside the region for detection. The processing must remain entirely within the region only.

Answer 1

Hello Ankit Rathod,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

Some Face capabilities are limited access and not supported on the Free (F0) tier (only S0/E0). The Face docs explicitly note that Limited Access features (like Identify/Verify) are S0/E0 only, and Face access is subject to Microsoft’s gating process. Face detection with faceId can be treated as part of gated scenarios in the Face privacy documentation.

If you need anything beyond face rectangles, move to S0/E0 (and complete the gating/registration if required).

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/responsible-ai/computer-vision/limited-access-identity?view=foundry-classic

If you point your request to a Face resource in another region, the photo bytes are sent to that region for processing (because the service processes data where the resource endpoint is).

No images sent to the Face service are stored after analysis. The Detect API also states: no image is stored, only extracted face features may be stored when you ask for faceId, and they expire based on TTL (or default behavior).

Please Upvote and accept the answer if it helps!!

Answer 2

Hello Ankit Rathod,

I understand that You’re running into a known limitation with Azure AI Face Service in the UAE North region, especially when using the Free (F0) tier.

Face Detection Availability

Currently, face detection (used for photo tagging) is not supported in the UAE North region on the Free tier, which is why you’re receiving the 403 – Unsupported Feature error. Even though the Face API resource itself can be created in this region, certain capabilities like face detection are region- and tier-restricted. To use face detection, the service must be deployed in a region where this feature is enabled (typically on paid tiers).

Using Another Region

If you deploy Azure AI Face Service in a different supported region and call that endpoint:

The image data is transmitted to that region for processing.

The service processes the image to extract face coordinates and related metadata.

The image itself is not stored after processing and is discarded immediately, unless explicitly configured otherwise (e.g., storing face features like faceId, which are temporary).

However, this does mean the image leaves the UAE North region, which conflicts with strict compliance or data residency requirements that mandate all processing remain within the region.

Compliance Considerations

Azure does not currently offer a way to force Face API face detection to run entirely within UAE North if the feature is not supported there. As a result:

• Using another region violates strict in-region processing requirements, even though the image is only processed transiently.
• This limitation is service-side and cannot be overridden through configuration.

Recommended Alternatives

If data residency is non-negotiable, consider:

• Building a custom face detection model using Azure Machine Learning in UAE North, ensuring all inference and processing stay within the region.
• Evaluating Azure AI Vision (non-identification scenarios) if basic face bounding boxes (without identity features) meet your tagging requirements and are supported in the region.

Please refer this

• Azure AI Face API Documentation
• Azure Region Availability

I Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

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