diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index db6d4bf..5544155 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,16 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [8.2.0] — 2026-05-05
+
+### Deprecated
+
+- `ScaniiTarget.AUTO` — latency-based routing (`https://api.scanii.com`) does not guarantee
+  regional data placement. Use an explicit regional constant (`ScaniiTarget.US1`,
+  `ScaniiTarget.EU1`, etc.) instead. Will be removed in a future major version.
+- `ScaniiClients.createDefault(String key, String secret)` — defaults to `ScaniiTarget.AUTO`.
+  Use `createDefault(ScaniiTarget, String, String)` with an explicit target instead.
+  Will be removed in a future major version.
+
 ## [8.1.0] — 2026-05-01
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientBuilder.java b/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientBuilder.java
index 7d80f9f..3e38769 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientBuilder.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
  * }</pre>
  */
 public class ScaniiClientBuilder {
+  @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
   private ScaniiTarget target = ScaniiTarget.AUTO;
   private String key;
   private String secret;
@@ -35,7 +36,11 @@ public class ScaniiClientBuilder {
   /**
    * Sets the target region.
    *
-   * @param target the target region {@link ScaniiTarget}. Defaults to {@link ScaniiTarget#AUTO}.
+   * <p>Use an explicit regional constant ({@link ScaniiTarget#US1}, {@link ScaniiTarget#EU1},
+   * etc.) for production. If not set, the client defaults to {@link ScaniiTarget#AUTO}, which is
+   * deprecated — a runtime warning will be emitted.</p>
+   *
+   * @param target the target region {@link ScaniiTarget}.
    * @return this builder.
    */
   public ScaniiClientBuilder target(ScaniiTarget target) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClients.java b/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClients.java
index 328f886..77de759 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClients.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClients.java
@@ -52,12 +52,16 @@ public static ScaniiClient createDefault(ScaniiTarget target, String key, String
   }
 
   /**
-   * Creates a default client using an API key/secret pair and routing to the nearest processing endpoint.
+   * Creates a default client using an API key/secret pair, routing to the nearest processing endpoint.
    *
    * @param key    an API key to be used.
    * @param secret an API secret to be used.
    * @return the new scanii client.
+   * @deprecated Routing to the nearest processing endpoint does not give you control over which
+   *   region processes your data. Use {@link #createDefault(ScaniiTarget, String, String)} with an
+   *   explicit regional target instead. Will be removed in a future major version.
    */
+  @Deprecated(since = "8.2.0")
   public static ScaniiClient createDefault(String key, String secret) {
     return builder().credentials(key, secret).build();
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTarget.java b/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTarget.java
index 841cb5e..e1ae68c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTarget.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTarget.java
@@ -4,11 +4,20 @@
 import java.util.List;
 
 /**
- * Scanii Resource targets so you can control which api version and endpoint you would like your client to utilize.
+ * Scanii regional API endpoints.
  *
- * @see <a href="http://docs.scanii.com/v2.1/overview.html#endpoints">http://docs.scanii.com/v2.1/overview.html#endpoints</a>
+ * @see <a href="https://scanii.github.io/openapi/v22/">https://scanii.github.io/openapi/v22/</a>
  */
 public class ScaniiTarget {
+  /**
+   * Latency-routed endpoint ({@code https://api.scanii.com}). Routes to the nearest regional
+   * endpoint automatically, but does not guarantee which region processes your data.
+   *
+   * @deprecated Use an explicit regional target for data residency compliance:
+   *   {@link #US1}, {@link #EU1}, {@link #EU2}, {@link #AP1}, {@link #AP2}, {@link #CA1}.
+   *   Will be removed in a future major version.
+   */
+  @Deprecated(since = "8.2.0")
   public static final ScaniiTarget AUTO = new ScaniiTarget("https://api.scanii.com");
   public static final ScaniiTarget US1 = new ScaniiTarget("https://api-us1.scanii.com");
   public static final ScaniiTarget EU1 = new ScaniiTarget("https://api-eu1.scanii.com");
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientsTest.java b/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientsTest.java
index 328043c..0b59b68 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiClientsTest.java
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 import java.net.http.HttpClient;
 
+@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
 class ScaniiClientsTest {
 
   @Test
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTargetTest.java b/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTargetTest.java
index 7319843..61037ed 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTargetTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/scanii/ScaniiTargetTest.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
 class ScaniiTargetTest {
 
   @Test