diff --git a/posthog/apps.py b/posthog/apps.py
index 8a84e8cd08a8..d6a5dda52fbf 100644
--- a/posthog/apps.py
+++ b/posthog/apps.py
@@ -77,15 +77,17 @@ def ready(self):
                     properties={"git_rev": get_git_commit_short(), "git_branch": get_git_branch()},
                 )
         # Use HyperCache to provide flag definitions instead of per-process API polling.
-        # Falls back to the SDK's emergency API fetch (via personal_api_key) only when
-        # the cache is cold. In E2E testing personal_api_key is None, so a cold cache
-        # will result in no flag definitions being loaded — which is acceptable there.
+        # Only wired up in US, where local team_id=2 corresponds to the PostHog company
+        # project. Outside US the helper returns None so the SDK falls back to its API
+        # path against `posthoganalytics.host` (us.i.posthog.com) — see helper docstring.
+        # In E2E testing personal_api_key is None, so the SDK's API fallback is a no-op
+        # and no flag definitions are loaded — which is acceptable there.
         if not posthoganalytics.disabled:
-            from posthog.feature_flags.sdk_cache_provider import HyperCacheFlagProvider
+            from posthog.feature_flags.sdk_cache_provider import get_default_flag_definition_cache_provider
 
-            posthoganalytics.flag_definition_cache_provider = HyperCacheFlagProvider(  # ty: ignore[invalid-assignment]
-                team_id=int(os.environ.get("POSTHOG_SELF_TEAM_ID", "2"))
-            )
+            provider = get_default_flag_definition_cache_provider()
+            if provider is not None:
+                posthoganalytics.flag_definition_cache_provider = provider  # ty: ignore[invalid-assignment]
 
         # load feature flag definitions if not already loaded
         if not posthoganalytics.disabled and posthoganalytics.feature_flag_definitions() is None:
diff --git a/posthog/feature_flags/sdk_cache_provider.py b/posthog/feature_flags/sdk_cache_provider.py
index 9d5a1cad7892..12aac336e73a 100644
--- a/posthog/feature_flags/sdk_cache_provider.py
+++ b/posthog/feature_flags/sdk_cache_provider.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Optional
 
 import structlog
@@ -72,3 +73,20 @@ def on_flag_definitions_received(self, data: FlagDefinitionCacheData) -> None:
 
     def shutdown(self) -> None:
         pass  # No-op — no locks or resources to release
+
+
+def get_default_flag_definition_cache_provider() -> Optional[HyperCacheFlagProvider]:
+    """Build the flag-definition cache provider for this region, or None to fall back to API polling.
+
+    HyperCache is keyed by team_id (defaults to 2 via POSTHOG_SELF_TEAM_ID), which is only
+    the PostHog company project in US Postgres — in EU and other regions, team 2 is an
+    unrelated org. Returning None outside US lets the SDK poll posthoganalytics.host
+    (us.i.posthog.com) directly via personal_api_key, which is the cross-region behavior
+    that worked before this provider was wired up.
+    """
+    from django.conf import settings
+
+    if settings.CLOUD_DEPLOYMENT != "US":
+        return None
+
+    return HyperCacheFlagProvider(team_id=int(os.environ.get("POSTHOG_SELF_TEAM_ID", "2")))
diff --git a/posthog/feature_flags/test_sdk_cache_provider.py b/posthog/feature_flags/test_sdk_cache_provider.py
index 4bb14ef3eae2..742b883add93 100644
--- a/posthog/feature_flags/test_sdk_cache_provider.py
+++ b/posthog/feature_flags/test_sdk_cache_provider.py
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
+import os
+
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
-from django.test import SimpleTestCase
+from django.test import SimpleTestCase, override_settings
 
 from parameterized import parameterized
 from posthoganalytics.client import Client
 
-from posthog.feature_flags.sdk_cache_provider import HyperCacheFlagProvider
+from posthog.feature_flags.sdk_cache_provider import HyperCacheFlagProvider, get_default_flag_definition_cache_provider
 
 
 class TestHyperCacheFlagProvider(SimpleTestCase):
@@ -206,3 +208,34 @@ def test_sdk_falls_back_to_api_when_provider_raises(self):
             client._load_feature_flags()
 
             mock_api.assert_called_once()
+
+
+class TestGetDefaultFlagDefinitionCacheProvider(SimpleTestCase):
+    @parameterized.expand(
+        [
+            # (name, CLOUD_DEPLOYMENT, env_overrides, expected_team_id)
+            ("us_default", "US", {}, 2),
+            ("us_env_override", "US", {"POSTHOG_SELF_TEAM_ID": "42"}, 42),
+            ("eu_no_env", "EU", {}, None),
+            # documents that the gate is regional, not env-overridable
+            ("eu_env_override", "EU", {"POSTHOG_SELF_TEAM_ID": "42"}, None),
+            ("dev", "DEV", {}, None),
+            ("e2e", "E2E", {}, None),
+            ("local", "LOCAL", {}, None),
+            ("self_hosted", None, {}, None),
+        ]
+    )
+    def test_provider(self, _name, deployment, env_overrides, expected_team_id):
+        # clear=True wipes os.environ inside the context (and restores on exit), so the
+        # test sees only env_overrides — no leakage from the outer environment.
+        with (
+            patch.dict(os.environ, env_overrides, clear=True),
+            override_settings(CLOUD_DEPLOYMENT=deployment),
+        ):
+            provider = get_default_flag_definition_cache_provider()
+
+        if expected_team_id is None:
+            assert provider is None
+        else:
+            assert isinstance(provider, HyperCacheFlagProvider)
+            assert provider._team_id == expected_team_id