diff --git a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/internal/index.ts b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/internal/index.ts
index e7119717bf3..de669f7af74 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/internal/index.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/internal/index.ts
@@ -25,3 +25,5 @@ export {
   setGetObservablePluginLinks,
   type GetObservablePluginLinks,
 } from '../services/pluginExtensions/getObservablePluginLinks';
+
+export { UserStorage } from '../utils/userStorage';
diff --git a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.test.ts b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.test.ts
index c256f77baea..e249d727a68 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.test.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.test.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,14 @@ class MyDataSource extends DataSourceWithBackend<MyQuery, DataSourceJsonData> {
   applyTemplateVariables(query: MyQuery, scopedVars: ScopedVars, filters?: AdHocVariableFilter[] | undefined): MyQuery {
     return { ...query, applyTemplateVariablesCalled: true, filters };
   }
+
+  async getValue(key: string) {
+    return await this.userStorage.getItem(key);
+  }
+
+  async setValue(key: string, value: string) {
+    await this.userStorage.setItem(key, value);
+  }
 }
 
 const mockDatasourceRequest = jest.fn<Promise<FetchResponse>, BackendSrvRequest[]>();
@@ -536,6 +544,15 @@ describe('DataSourceWithBackend', () => {
       expect(publicDashboardQueryHandler).toHaveBeenCalledWith(request);
     });
   });
+
+  describe('user storage', () => {
+    test('sets and gets a value', async () => {
+      const { ds } = createMockDatasource();
+
+      await ds.setValue('multiplier', '1');
+      expect(await ds.getValue('multiplier')).toBe('1');
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 function createMockDatasource() {
diff --git a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.ts b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.ts
index 3d5a32dc252..ab3a2b7670d 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/DataSourceWithBackend.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import {
 
 import { publicDashboardQueryHandler } from './publicDashboardQueryHandler';
 import { BackendDataSourceResponse, toDataQueryResponse } from './queryResponse';
+import { UserStorage } from './userStorage';
 
 /**
  * @internal
@@ -121,8 +122,11 @@ class DataSourceWithBackend<
   TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
   TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData,
 > extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions> {
+  protected userStorage: UserStorage;
+
   constructor(instanceSettings: DataSourceInstanceSettings<TOptions>) {
     super(instanceSettings);
+    this.userStorage = new UserStorage(instanceSettings.type);
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.test.tsx b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.test.tsx
index 46999241686..91fe2374508 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.test.tsx
@@ -48,15 +48,15 @@ describe('userStorage', () => {
     it('use localStorage if the user is not logged in', async () => {
       config.bootData.user.isSignedIn = false;
       const storage = usePluginUserStorage();
-      storage.getItem('key');
-      expect(localStorage.getItem).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      await storage.getItem('key');
+      expect(localStorage.getItem).toHaveBeenCalledWith('plugin-id:abc:key');
     });
 
     it('use localStorage if the user storage is not found', async () => {
       request.mockReturnValue(Promise.reject({ status: 404 } as FetchError));
       const storage = usePluginUserStorage();
       await storage.getItem('key');
-      expect(localStorage.getItem).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(localStorage.getItem).toHaveBeenCalledWith('plugin-id:abc:key');
     });
 
     it('returns the value from the user storage', async () => {
@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ describe('userStorage', () => {
     it('use localStorage if the user is not logged in', async () => {
       config.bootData.user.isSignedIn = false;
       const storage = usePluginUserStorage();
-      storage.setItem('key', 'value');
-      expect(localStorage.setItem).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      await storage.setItem('key', 'value');
+      expect(localStorage.setItem).toHaveBeenCalledWith('plugin-id:abc:key', 'value');
     });
 
     it('creates a new user storage if it does not exist', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.tsx b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.tsx
index 57ed8354404..245322e0a68 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/utils/userStorage.tsx
@@ -37,9 +37,9 @@ async function apiRequest<T>(requestOptions: RequestOptions) {
 
 /**
  * A class for interacting with the backend user storage.
- * Unexported because it is currently only be used through the useUserStorage hook.
+ * Exposed internally only to avoid misuse (wrong service name)..
  */
-class UserStorage {
+export class UserStorage {
   private service: string;
   private resourceName: string;
   private userUID: string;
@@ -76,13 +76,13 @@ class UserStorage {
   async getItem(key: string): Promise<string | null> {
     if (!this.canUseUserStorage) {
       // Fallback to localStorage
-      return localStorage.getItem(this.resourceName);
+      return localStorage.getItem(`${this.resourceName}:${key}`);
     }
     // Ensure this.storageSpec is initialized
     await this.init();
     if (!this.storageSpec) {
       // Also, fallback to localStorage for backward compatibility
-      return localStorage.getItem(this.resourceName);
+      return localStorage.getItem(`${this.resourceName}:${key}`);
     }
     return this.storageSpec.data[key];
   }
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class UserStorage {
   async setItem(key: string, value: string): Promise<void> {
     if (!this.canUseUserStorage) {
       // Fallback to localStorage
-      localStorage.setItem(key, value);
+      localStorage.setItem(`${this.resourceName}:${key}`, value);
       return;
     }