- By Prateek Levi
- Wed, 29 Jan 2025 03:06 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
DeepSeek Privacy Concerns: Just within a few days of its launch, DeepSeek has managed to take the top spot on Apple's App Store as the most downloaded free app, overtaking OpenAI's ChatGPT and pushing it to the second spot. DeepSeek's AI chatbot has become the hottest debated topic in the tech industry worldwide and its launch has also caused big tech stocks to go bearish, with giants losing billions of dollars over a very short period of time. Now conversations are taking place that are concerned with AI's potential and its possible risks, and with that one question becomes obvious- Is your data safe while using DeepSeek?
To get the whole context let's take a deeper dive. On Monday, 27 January 2025, DeepSeek saw large-scale outages and was raided by malicious attacks, which were followed by serious warnings putting into question the chatbot's vulnerabilities.
Cyberattack in the first week itself
After just one week of being publicly available, DeepSeek's V3 chat platform has fallen victim to a "large-scale" cyberattack.
At the time of writing, the attack seems to still be affecting DeepSeek, and its status page has issued a notice stating, "temporarily limiting registrations to ensure continued service. Existing users can log in as usual."
While the specific details of the attack haven't been confirmed, reports from Bleeping Computer suggest that it is likely a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. In a DDoS attack, a huge influx of traffic overwhelms a target, consuming its resources and causing the network or website to become inoperable.
In DeepSeek's case, the attack is reportedly disrupting the platform's registration process, though the core functions of the app remain operational. New users, however, can still log in and gain access by using their Google accounts.
What about your Privacy?
Like any other AI platform, DeepSeek is also trained on extensive datasets collected from the internet, which might potentially include your personal information. According to its privacy policy, it goes beyond collecting what you have typed during your session, it also keeps track of things like IP address, location, and even your interactions with other apps, and for someone who is conscious about their privacy, this is a big deal.
The policy goes further and states that DeepSeek's partners which include advertisers, share information about what you do outside of DeepSeek. This will include activities on other websites and other products or services purchased as well. DeepSeek further states that its partners "share information with us, such as mobile identifiers for advertising, hashed email addresses and phone numbers, and cookie identifiers, which we use to help match you and your actions outside of the Service."
DeepSeek has confirmed that it might share the information collected from you with its advertisers and analytics partners and states that information is kept for "as long as necessary" to give its services.
DeepSeek collects various types of information, such as your IP address, device model, profile details, cookies, and payment information. Additionally, the platform may record your prompts, text and audio inputs, uploaded files, feedback, and chat history.
According to its privacy policy, users have the option to delete their chat history, and some cookies can be disabled. However, DeepSeek cautions that doing so could impact the functionality of its services.
How does DeepSeek's data collection exceed that of ChatGPT?
For privacy concerns, even ChatGPT has been under fire, but it mostly restricts its tracking to interactions within the app. It does not actively keep an eye on your behaviour beyond what you do in the chatbot.
DeepSeek on the flip side cross-references your data with third-party sources which entails the following:
-Tracking goes beyond what you do in the chatbot, it could mean keeping a log of your activity across multiple platforms.
-DeepSeek merges user data with mobile identifiers, cookie tracking, and advertising sources to create a detailed behavioral profile.
-It collects keystroke data in real-time, meaning that even if a message is deleted before sending, DeepSeek has already captured it
Lauren Hendry Parsons, Privacy Advocate at ExpressVPN says, “Most AI platforms collect some level of user data, but DeepSeek goes a step further. This creates an interconnected data stream that follows you well beyond the app itself. Once that data is stored, users have no real control over where it goes or how it’s used.”
So is it safe?
DeepSeek's privacy concerns have raised alarms over cybersecurity risks. With its real-time data processing, security experts warn that AI-driven automation could escalate cyber threats, including:
Automated vulnerability detection: DeepSeek’s ability to scan large datasets could help both researchers and malicious actors quickly identify weaknesses.
Sophisticated phishing and scams: AI-generated phishing attacks could become more convincing as DeepSeek analyzes user behavior, enhancing social engineering tactics.
Spread of misinformation: AI tools like DeepSeek could amplify the reach of misleading content, blurring the line between fact and fiction.
What can you do to protect your data?
To protect your data, and potential threats you can do the following to stay in control:
-Think before you type: Assume that anything shared is logged and might be stored permanently.
-Use a VPN: A VPN, masks your IP address, adding anonymity to your browsing. Although VPN's alone aren't enough to address all your privacy risks.
-Opt out of data collection: Check settings for options to limit data sharing, even if privacy controls are limited.
-Verify AI-generated responses: Always fact-check AI outputs, as misinformation can be widespread.
Should we use DeepSeek or not?
While platforms like DeepSeek and ChatGPT showcase exceptional innovation in the field of AI, but your privacy concerns stay on top. DeepSeeks' free availability and its open-source nature make it quite attractive to users who are eager to explore the world of AI, but with a platform capable of analyzing large datasets and huge amounts of user data it's best to proceed with caution.
DeepSeek has made it clear with its policy statements, the extent to which it can go to collect and share your data. Now it completely rests upon the individual how they feel about it, for some who want cutting-edge AI experience, might not fret about opting for it. But for those who keep privacy first, an app with such extensive tracking capabilities might seem like a problem. So it completely depends on you how you want to proceed with it. The world of AI is now ever-changing with new innovations taking place every other day, so it's important to stay informed and aware.
