According to DeepSeek's own privacy policy, it collects large amounts of personal information collected from users, which is then stored "in secure servers" in China.
This may include:
It says it uses this information to improve DeepSeek by enhancing its "safety, security and stability".
It will then share this information with others, such as service providers, advertising partners, and its corporate group, which will be kept "for as long as necessary".
"There are genuine concerns around the technological potential of DeepSeek, specifically around the terms of its privacy policy," said ExpressVPN's digital privacy advocate Lauren Hendry Parsons.
She specifically highlighted the part of the policy which says data can be used "to help match you and your actions outside of the service" - which she said "should immediately ring an alarm bell for anyone concerned with their privacy".
But while the app harvests a lot of data, experts point out it's very similar to privacy policies users may have already agreed to for rival services like ChatGPT and Gemini, or even social media platforms.