DeepSeek Privacy Policy 2026: Data Retention, Data Storage & AI Training

Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used for research, content creation, coding, business analysis and everyday productivity. As AI adoption grows, understanding how these platforms collect, process, store and use personal and business data has become an important privacy and cybersecurity consideration.

DeepSeek is one of the AI platforms attracting significant attention from individuals and organisations. This makes its privacy policy particularly relevant for businesses that may process confidential information, personal data, intellectual property or commercially sensitive information through AI tools.

So, what does the DeepSeek Privacy Policy actually say about data collection, data retention, data storage, AI model training and deletion?

This article reviews the current DeepSeek Privacy Policy and related official documentation, with a focus on the questions businesses and users are asking: How long does DeepSeek retain data? Does DeepSeek store data in China? Can user inputs be used for AI training? Can users opt out? What about the DeepSeek API? And what should organisations in India consider before using the platform?

Important: Privacy policies and AI services can change over time. This article is based on the DeepSeek documentation available at the time of review and should not be treated as legal advice.

What Is the DeepSeek Privacy Policy?

The DeepSeek Privacy Policy explains how DeepSeek processes personal data in connection with its applications, websites, software and related services.

The current policy identifies Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., registered in China, as the data controller for the services covered by the policy.

The policy applies to information collected when users create accounts, interact with DeepSeek, submit prompts, upload files or otherwise use its services.

For organisations, the important point is that an AI prompt should not automatically be considered harmless simply because it is entered into a chatbot.

A prompt may contain:

• Personal information
• Customer information
• Business documents
• Internal processes
• Source code
• Financial information
• Confidential commercial information
• Intellectual property
• Employee information
• Security-related information

Therefore, organisations should understand the privacy and security implications before allowing employees to use external AI platforms with company information.

What Data Does DeepSeek Collect?

1. Account Information

Depending on how the service is used, DeepSeek may collect information such as:

• Username
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Password
• Date of birth, where applicable

2. User Inputs and Content

DeepSeek states that it may collect information users provide to its services, including:

• Text inputs
• Prompts
• Voice inputs
• Uploaded files
• Photos
• Feedback
• Chat history
• Other content submitted to the service

This category is particularly important for businesses.

For example, an employee who copies a customer complaint, contract, employee record or confidential business document into an AI chatbot may be transferring information outside the organisation’s normal information-processing environment.

3. Device and Network Information

The policy also describes automatically collected information such as device and network information, logs, IP address-related information and other technical data.

Depending on the service and circumstances, location and cookie information may also be processed.

4. Information From Other Sources

The policy also describes circumstances where DeepSeek may receive personal data from other sources.

This means organisations should not evaluate AI privacy solely by looking at what information an employee consciously types into the platform.

DeepSeek Data Retention Policy

One of the most important questions users ask is:

How Long Does DeepSeek Keep Your Data?

The current policy does not provide one universal retention period that applies to every category of data.

Instead, DeepSeek states that retention periods vary depending on factors such as:

• The amount of personal data
• Type of personal data
• Sensitivity of the data
• Purpose for processing
• Applicable legal requirements
• Other relevant circumstances

For example, the policy states that when personal data is processed to provide the services, certain information—including account, input and payment information—may be retained for as long as the user has an account.

DeepSeek also states that where collected personal data is no longer required, it and its service providers will undertake procedures for destroying, deleting, erasing or anonymising it, as permitted or required by applicable law.

There is therefore no single answer such as “DeepSeek keeps all data for X days.”

Instead, the applicable retention period depends on the type and purpose of the data.

This distinction is important because organisations should avoid publishing or relying on a blanket statement such as:

“DeepSeek permanently stores all user data.”

That is not an accurate description of the current policy.

What Happens When You Delete Your DeepSeek Account?

DeepSeek states that users can delete their accounts.

The policy also states that after an account is deleted, the user cannot reactivate the account or retrieve the content or personal data associated with it.

However, account deletion should not automatically be interpreted as meaning that every copy of every piece of information disappears immediately in every circumstance.

Retention may depend on:

• Applicable legal requirements
• Data type
• Processing purpose
• Technical capabilities
• Service-provider processing
• Other circumstances described in the privacy policy

For businesses, this highlights why data deletion requirements should be considered during AI vendor assessment rather than only after an employee has already submitted sensitive information.

Where Does DeepSeek Store User Data?

Does DeepSeek Store Data in China?

According to the current DeepSeek Privacy Policy, personal data collected from users may be stored on servers outside the country where the user lives.

The policy specifically states that, to provide its services, DeepSeek directly collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China.

This is an important consideration for organisations operating in countries where data protection, international transfers, contractual controls or sector-specific requirements may apply.

However, the statement should not be simplified into:

“Every piece of DeepSeek data is always stored only in China.”

The current policy describes broader processing and storage circumstances, including the possibility of data being stored outside a user’s country.

Therefore, businesses should review the current contractual, privacy and security documentation applicable to the particular DeepSeek service they intend to use.

Does DeepSeek Use User Data for AI Training?

The current DeepSeek Privacy Policy states that personal data may be used to:

• Operate the service
• Provide and maintain the service
• Develop and improve services
• Train and improve machine learning models and algorithms
• Analyse usage
• Maintain safety and security
• Detect abuse, fraud and illegal activity
• Conduct testing, research and troubleshooting

Therefore, organisations should not assume that information entered into an AI service is automatically excluded from activities related to service improvement or model development.

Does DeepSeek Use Every User Prompt to Train Its Models?

No such blanket conclusion should be made.

DeepSeek’s current Model Mechanism and Training Methods documentation states that its pre-training phase does not require personal information and that it does not intentionally collect personal information associated with specific accounts or individuals for that pre-training purpose.

For its optimisation training process, DeepSeek states that a small portion of user input may potentially be used to construct training data. Where user input is used, DeepSeek states that it applies encryption, de-identification and anonymisation measures.

This distinction is important:

Pre-training, optimisation training and service operation are not necessarily the same processing activity.

Can You Opt Out of DeepSeek AI Training?

The answer has changed from what older versions of the DeepSeek privacy documentation indicated.

The current DeepSeek Privacy Policy explicitly states that users have the right to opt out of using their personal data for training models or optimising technologies.

DeepSeek’s current model-training documentation also refers users to its Privacy Policy for information about opting out of AI training.

Therefore, older articles stating that DeepSeek provides “no opt-out mechanism” should be updated.

For organisations, however, an individual opt-out mechanism should not be treated as a replacement for an enterprise AI governance framework.

Companies should still define:

• What employees can enter into AI tools
• What information is classified as confidential
• Which AI services are approved
• Who can access AI tools
• What data can be uploaded
• How AI vendors are assessed
• How data is deleted
• How AI-related incidents are reported

DeepSeek API Privacy Policy and Data Retention

Businesses may use DeepSeek differently from individual users.

Instead of interacting with the consumer-facing chatbot, an organisation may integrate DeepSeek through its API into an application, internal system or workflow.

This creates a separate set of privacy and data-management questions.

Is the DeepSeek API Stateless?

DeepSeek’s current API documentation describes its /chat/completions API as stateless, meaning the server does not record the context of user requests for maintaining the conversation.

The developer is responsible for sending the required conversation history with subsequent requests.

DeepSeek’s newer Responses API documentation similarly states that the API is stateless and that responses and conversations are not stored on the server for that API.

However, organisations should avoid turning this into a blanket statement that:

“DeepSeek retains no API data under any circumstances.”

Different API features may have different technical behaviours, storage mechanisms and terms.

For example, an organisation should separately review:

• API requests
• API responses
• Uploaded files
• Logs
• Application-level storage
• Developer-controlled databases
• Monitoring systems
• Third-party integrations
• Other Open Platform features

Does DeepSeek API Data Have a Universal Retention Period?

There is no single universal retention period that should be applied to every DeepSeek API feature.

The technical behaviour of a particular endpoint and the applicable DeepSeek Open Platform Terms of Service should be reviewed before processing sensitive or regulated information.

DeepSeek and Third-Party Applications

There is another important distinction in the DeepSeek Privacy Policy.

The policy states that processing rules for personal data collected from end users when they access downstream systems or applications developed by developers using DeepSeek’s Open Platform services are not covered by the DeepSeek Privacy Policy.

The developer operating that application may have its own responsibilities as the controller of the personal-data processing activity.

This means:

Using DeepSeek through another application does not necessarily mean that DeepSeek’s consumer privacy policy is the only privacy policy that matters.

Businesses developing AI-powered applications should therefore assess the entire data flow.

Is DeepSeek Safe to Use?

There is no universal yes-or-no answer to whether an AI platform is “safe.”

The answer depends on:

• What information is entered
• The sensitivity of that information
• How the service processes the information
• Where data is processed or stored
• The organisation’s legal obligations
• Vendor security controls
• Data retention requirements
• AI governance policies
• The specific use case

For example, asking an AI tool to generate a generic marketing headline is very different from uploading:

• A customer database
• Medical records
• Employee salary information
• Source code
• Confidential contracts
• Authentication credentials

The risk therefore depends heavily on how the technology is used.

Is DeepSeek Safe to Use in India?

For users and businesses in India, the question should be approached from a privacy, cybersecurity and governance perspective, rather than simply asking whether the application can be accessed.

Before using DeepSeek for business purposes, organisations should consider:

1. Data Classification

Identify whether the information being submitted is:

• Public
• Internal
• Confidential
• Sensitive
• Regulated
• Proprietary

2. Data Transfer Considerations

If personal or confidential information is processed by an external AI provider, organisations should understand where the information is processed and stored and what contractual or legal requirements apply.

3. Vendor Assessment

Review:

• Privacy policy
• Terms of use
• Security documentation
• Data retention
• Data deletion
• Data-processing arrangements
• Sub-processors
• International data transfers
• Incident response

4. Employee AI Usage

Employees should not be allowed to upload confidential information into AI platforms simply because the tool is convenient.

An organisation should establish an AI Acceptable Use Policy defining approved and prohibited use cases.

Is DeepSeek Legal in India?

The question “Is DeepSeek legal in India?” requires more nuance than a simple yes-or-no answer.

Access to an AI service and an organisation’s compliant use of that service are different questions.

For businesses, the more useful questions are:

• What personal data is being processed?
• What is the purpose of processing?
• Where is the data processed?
• What contractual safeguards apply?
• What security controls are in place?
• What rights do individuals have?
• How is data deleted?
• What happens if an AI-related privacy incident occurs?

Organisations should assess DeepSeek against the laws, contractual obligations and sector-specific requirements applicable to their particular operations.

Where the processing involves personal data, organisations should also consider their obligations under India’s applicable data-protection framework, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, as applicable to their activities.

For organisations looking specifically at DPDP requirements, see DPDP Act 2023 Compliance from ISOQAR India.

For legal interpretation or high-risk processing, organisations should obtain advice from an appropriately qualified legal or privacy professional.

Is DeepSeek GDPR Compliant?

“GDPR compliant” is not simply a label that can be assigned to an AI tool based on the existence of a privacy policy.

GDPR compliance depends on factors including:

• The role of each party
• Lawful basis for processing
• Data-subject rights
• Transparency
• Data minimisation
• Purpose limitation
• Security
• International data transfers
• Processor/controller relationships
• Retention
• Contractual safeguards
• The specific processing activity

The current DeepSeek Privacy Policy includes provisions addressing privacy rights and international data processing.

However, organisations subject to GDPR should conduct their own assessment of the specific DeepSeek service and use case rather than assuming that the existence of these provisions automatically makes every implementation GDPR compliant.

Key Privacy Risks for Businesses Using DeepSeek

1. Confidential Information Exposure

Employees may unintentionally submit confidential company information to an external AI service.

2. Personal Data Exposure

Customer, employee or other personal information may be included in prompts or uploaded documents.

3. Data Location

Processing or storage outside the organisation’s primary jurisdiction may create additional privacy, contractual or compliance considerations.

4. Data Retention

Organisations should understand how long information may remain available and under what circumstances it can be deleted.

5. AI Training and Optimisation

Businesses should understand how submitted information may be used for service improvement, model training or optimisation and what opt-out controls are available.

6. Shadow AI

Employees may adopt AI tools without informing IT, cybersecurity or compliance teams.

This creates a Shadow AI problem where the organisation may not know:

• Which AI tools employees use
• What information they submit
• Which accounts are being used
• What third-party integrations exist
• Where business data is being processed

For a deeper look at this issue, read Shadow AI in India: Cybersecurity Risks.

7. Lack of AI Governance

Even when an AI provider has security and privacy controls, the organisation using the technology remains responsible for controlling its own internal AI use.

Best Practices for Using AI Tools Securely

Create an AI Acceptable Use Policy

Define what employees can and cannot submit to AI tools.

Classify Data Before Using AI

Employees should understand whether information is public, internal, confidential or restricted.

Implement Access Controls

Only authorised users should have access to approved AI services.

Conduct Vendor Due Diligence

Assess AI providers based on:

• Privacy
• Security
• Data retention
• Data location
• Data deletion
• Sub-processors
• Contractual terms
• Compliance requirements

Maintain an Approved AI Tool List

IT and compliance teams should maintain a list of AI tools approved for organisational use.

Monitor Shadow AI

Organisations should identify unauthorised AI adoption and establish controls around it.

Train Employees

Employees should understand:

• Prompt security
• Data privacy
• Confidentiality
• Phishing
• AI-generated content risks
• Intellectual property
• Approved AI usage

How ISO Standards Can Help Manage AI Privacy Risks

ISO standards can provide a structured framework for organisations looking to strengthen information security, privacy and AI governance.

ISO/IEC 27001 – Information Security Management

ISO/IEC 27001 provides a framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS).

For organisations using AI platforms, an ISMS can help establish controls around:

• Information classification
• Access control
• Supplier security
• Risk management
• Incident management
• Information protection
• Business continuity

Learn more about ISO 27001 Certification in India.

ISO/IEC 27701 – Privacy Information Management

ISO/IEC 27701 focuses on privacy information management and can help organisations establish structured processes for managing personal data.

It can support areas such as:

• Privacy governance
• Personal-data management
• Privacy risk assessment
• Data-subject rights
• Supplier and processor management
• Privacy controls

Explore ISOQAR India’s ISO 27701 Privacy Information Management services.

ISO/IEC 42001 – AI Management System

ISO/IEC 42001 provides a management-system framework specifically for organisations managing AI systems.

It can help organisations establish governance around:

• AI risks
• AI objectives
• AI lifecycle management
• Responsible AI
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Risk assessment
• AI controls
• Continual improvement

Learn more about ISO 42001 Certification in India.

For a broader overview, read AI Governance Framework in India: How ISO 42001 Helps Businesses Manage AI Risks.

Bringing Information Security, Privacy and AI Governance Together

AI governance does not operate separately from information security and privacy.

Organisations also need to protect the information AI systems process and manage the privacy risks associated with personal data.

ISO/IEC 27001 provides a risk-based approach to information security management, ISO/IEC 27701 provides a framework for privacy information management, and ISO/IEC 42001 provides a management-system approach to AI governance.

Explore ISOQAR India’s Digital Trust & Security Services for information security, privacy, DPDP compliance, AI governance and related assurance solutions.

DeepSeek Privacy Policy: Key Facts at a Glance

What Should Businesses Do Before Using DeepSeek?

Before allowing employees or applications to use DeepSeek with organisational information, businesses should ask:

1. What data will be sent to the AI platform?
2. Is the information personal, confidential or commercially sensitive?
3. Where will the information be processed or stored?
4. What are the applicable retention and deletion rules?
5. Can the organisation control or opt out of AI training?
6. What contractual and security safeguards are available?
7. Has the AI vendor been assessed by IT, cybersecurity and compliance teams?
8. Does the organisation have an AI usage policy?
9. Are employees trained on secure AI usage?
10. Are AI risks included in the organisation’s information-security and privacy risk assessments?

These questions can help organisations move from informal AI adoption toward structured and controlled AI governance.

Conclusion

The DeepSeek Privacy Policy 2026 provides important information about how DeepSeek collects, processes, stores and uses personal data.

The current policy states that DeepSeek may collect prompts, uploaded files, chat history, account information and technical information. It also states that personal data may be used to operate, develop and improve its services and technology.

DeepSeek states that it directly collects, processes and stores personal data in China, while retention periods vary depending on the type of information, purpose of processing and applicable requirements.

Importantly, the current policy also provides users with a right to opt out of using personal data for model training or technology optimisation. This corrects older descriptions of the service that suggested no such mechanism existed.

For businesses, the key issue is not simply whether DeepSeek or another AI platform is “safe.” The more important question is whether the organisation has appropriate AI governance, information-security, privacy and data-management controls for the way the technology is being used.

Frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 and ISO/IEC 42001 can help organisations establish structured approaches to information security, privacy and AI governance.

As AI adoption continues to grow, organisations should treat AI tools as part of their broader technology and risk environment—not as standalone productivity applications.

Need help strengthening your organisation’s AI governance, information security or privacy management framework?

Contact ISOQAR India to discuss relevant certification, training and assurance services.

Official DeepSeek Sources

• DeepSeek Privacy Policy
• DeepSeek Model Mechanism and Training Methods
• DeepSeek Open Platform Terms of Service
• DeepSeek API Documentation
• DeepSeek Responses API Documentation
• DeepSeek Terms of Use