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Freedom251 › Blog › AI data governance

What Data Does DeepSeek Send to Its Servers, and What Does That Mean for Businesses?

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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Yes, DeepSeek’s hosted services can receive your prompts and uploads, account and payment details, and technical information about your device and network. Its February 14, 2025 privacy policy allows personal information to be stored outside the user’s country, retained for periods that vary by purpose and sensitivity, and used to operate, secure, improve, research and develop its services. South Korea’s privacy regulator documented transfers of user data—including user input—to servers in China and the United States. Italy’s regulator separately restricted processing of Italian users’ data after finding DeepSeek’s explanations inadequate and raising concerns about storage in China under GDPR safeguards.

For a business, the practical rule is simple: treat anything entered into the ordinary hosted chatbot or API as potentially transferable business data until the exact product terms, processing locations, training settings, retention rules and deletion commitments have been verified in writing.

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What DeepSeek says it collects

DeepSeek’s Privacy Policy dated February 14, 2025 describes several broad categories of information. The wording covers hosted services generally; it does not create a single, fixed data map for every account type, regional endpoint or enterprise arrangement.

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Information you provide

When a user creates an account, uses the service, enters content or contacts DeepSeek, the company says it can collect account information, prompts and other user input, communications, and payment information. “User input” can include text, files, code, images or other material submitted to a feature, depending on what that feature accepts.

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That means a prompt is not merely an instruction processed in memory. It is information within the service’s stated collection scope. A file pasted into a conversation, a code snippet uploaded for debugging, and text sent through an integration should all be classified as business data before an employee submits them.

Automatically collected technical information

The policy also describes technical information generated when the service is used. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) later identified the relevant categories in its investigation as device information, user network information, application information and user input. Technical records can therefore reveal the device, software environment and network context associated with a request, even when the prompt itself contains no name or customer identifier.

Information from other sources

DeepSeek says it may receive information from other sources as well. The policy does not turn that phrase into a complete list of partners or data sets, so a business should ask for the current subprocessors and collection sources that apply to its particular product and region.

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How DeepSeek says it uses and retains the data

Operational, security and development purposes

The policy says collected information may be used to provide and maintain services; improve and develop them; conduct research; improve safety and security; and train or optimize technology. Those purposes are broader than simply generating an answer to a prompt. They allow processing connected with reliability, abuse prevention, product analytics and model or technology development, subject to the policy’s qualifications.

For an employer, the important distinction is between a service that promises no training on customer content and a policy that reserves the ability to use input for improvement or development. The policy language alone is not a business-specific no-training commitment.

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Retention is not a fixed short window

DeepSeek does not state one universal deletion period. Its policy says: “The retention periods will be different depending on the amount, type and sensitivity of information, the purposes for which we use the information and any legal requirements, etc.” Account information, input and payment information used to provide the service may be kept for as long as the account exists, subject to the policy’s qualifications.

Consequently, deleting a chat from a user interface, closing an account or stopping API calls should not be treated as proof that every copy has disappeared. A procurement review should require written answers about production logs, backups, abuse-monitoring records, support systems, model-development datasets and the time required to delete each category.

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What regulators found about transfers to China and the United States

South Korea’s PIPC investigation

On April 24, 2025, South Korea’s PIPC, with technical support from the Korea Internet & Security Agency, reported that DeepSeek transferred personal data to servers in China and the United States. The categories it identified included device information, user network information, applications and user input.

“DeepSeek transferred users’ personal data to servers located in China and the U.S. to improve service functionality, security, and customer support.” — Personal Information Protection Commission, April 24, 2025

PIPC identified Beijing Volcano Engine Technology as a recipient. DeepSeek described that company as a cloud service used for security and user-interface and user-experience functions. This is evidence of third-party processing, not merely a statement that DeepSeek owns servers in another country.

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PIPC also reported that DeepSeek transferred user input and found that the transfer was unnecessary for the stated purpose. The regulator said DeepSeek blocked that transfer from April 10, 2025. That date matters: it documents a change made during the Korean review, but it does not prove that every product, region or later configuration follows the same route. A company adopting the service now should obtain a current architecture and subprocessor statement rather than rely on the 2025 change.

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Italy’s urgent restriction

On January 30, 2025, Italy’s Garante issued an urgent order limiting processing of Italian users’ data. The authority said DeepSeek’s answers did not clarify key matters about processing. It also noted that, under the policy it reviewed, collected data were stored in the People’s Republic of China and considered that arrangement inconsistent with GDPR security safeguards.

The Italian action does not establish that every DeepSeek deployment is permanently prohibited in Europe. It does show that a regulator may intervene when a provider cannot clearly explain what it collects, why it collects it, where it sends it, how long it keeps it and what legal safeguards support the transfer.

Does DeepSeek train on business conversations?

South Korea’s PIPC reported that DeepSeek used publicly available data and user-entered data for artificial-intelligence development and training. It also reported that DeepSeek initially lacked an opt-out feature for user input. PIPC recommended a valid legal basis for cross-border transfers, destruction of transferred data where required, clearer notices and stronger safeguards.

This finding is not a promise that every current plan trains on every prompt. It is a warning not to infer a no-training guarantee from a general privacy page or from the existence of a paid account. Ask for a product-specific statement covering:

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  • Whether prompts, uploaded files, outputs, telemetry or support tickets are used for model training, fine-tuning, evaluation or safety review.
  • Whether an opt-out is available, where it is configured, and whether it applies to data already collected.
  • Whether opted-out data can still be retained for abuse monitoring, legal compliance or backups.
  • Which subprocessors or human support teams can access content.
  • Whether the commitment is contractual and applies to the exact chatbot, API, workspace or regional service being purchased.

What this means for confidential company data

Until those questions are answered, classify the ordinary hosted service as an external processor with cross-border exposure. The following data should not be entered casually:

Data type Why it matters Practical default
Trade secrets and product plans A prompt or attachment may be retained, reviewed for safety, transferred to another country or used for development under the applicable terms. Keep it out of the hosted service unless a contract and technical review approve the use.
Source code and credentials Code can reveal vulnerabilities and intellectual property; credentials can provide direct system access. Never submit passwords, private keys, tokens or unredacted proprietary repositories.
Customer identifiers and regulated records Names, account numbers, health details, financial records and support transcripts can trigger privacy, secrecy or sector rules. Remove identifiers and sensitive fields, or use an approved environment with documented controls.
Confidential contracts and legal advice Privilege, confidentiality and contractual restrictions may be compromised by external processing or support access. Obtain counsel and vendor approval before sending; use summaries with sensitive terms removed where possible.
Routine, non-sensitive text Even low-risk prompts generate account, device and network metadata. Permit only under an acceptable-use policy and after users understand what is logged.

Do not confuse DeepSeek products

DeepSeek Harness has a separate statement saying data are processed and stored locally by default and are not uploaded without consent. That statement cannot automatically be applied to the ordinary DeepSeek chatbot or API. Product names, endpoints and contracts must be matched exactly.

Question Ordinary hosted chatbot or API DeepSeek Harness statement
Where is data processed? The general policy permits storage outside the user’s country; the exact route is not fixed by that policy. Processed and stored locally by default, according to its separate statement.
Is upload automatic? Prompts and other input are within the collection scope; obtain product-specific controls. Not uploaded without consent, according to the separate statement.
Can the statement be generalized? Not applicable. No. It does not automatically cover the chatbot, API or another DeepSeek product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

How to assess DeepSeek before a business rollout

  1. Map the exact service. Record the product name, web address or API endpoint, account edition, region, integrations and administrator settings. “DeepSeek” is not precise enough for a vendor record.
  2. Classify every proposed input. Create allowed, restricted and prohibited categories. Include prompts, attachments, generated outputs that are fed back into the system, screenshots, source code, credentials and customer records.
  3. Obtain current processing documents. Request the privacy policy, data-processing agreement, subprocessor list, security documentation, retention schedule, deletion procedure and model-training terms for the exact service.
  4. Verify residency and transfers. Ask where requests, logs, backups, support records and training or evaluation copies are stored. Identify every country involved and the legal transfer mechanism used for each restricted jurisdiction.
  5. Confirm development use. Require a written answer on training, fine-tuning, evaluation, human review and opt-out scope. Confirm whether an opt-out is enabled by default or must be configured by an administrator.
  6. Test deletion. Submit a harmless test record, request deletion, and document which systems are covered, the completion time, backup treatment and the evidence supplied after deletion.
  7. Limit access technically. Use single sign-on, least-privilege roles, secrets scanning, data-loss-prevention rules, browser controls and proxy redaction where available. These controls reduce accidental disclosure but do not change the provider’s retention or transfer terms.
  8. Start with a monitored pilot. Use synthetic or already-public material, log prompts and destinations, review support access, and set a stop condition if the provider changes terms, subprocessors or regions.
  9. Document accountability. Keep the vendor assessment, transfer analysis, user notice, approved-use policy, training records and incident procedure. Reassess after material product or policy changes.

GDPR and other legal questions

Can a company use DeepSeek under GDPR?

There is no single yes-or-no answer for every company. The business must establish a lawful purpose, define controller and processor roles, provide required notices, limit the data to what is necessary, and document an appropriate mechanism for transfers outside the European Economic Area when applicable. A transfer-impact assessment may be needed, along with contractual safeguards and supplementary technical measures.

Italy’s January 30, 2025 intervention demonstrates why a generic acceptance of online terms is not enough. If a provider cannot explain destinations, safeguards, retention and rights handling, the customer may be unable to demonstrate compliance to its own regulator or clients.

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What should Korean businesses consider?

PIPC’s recommendations point to the same operational questions: a valid legal basis for cross-border transfers, destruction of transferred data where required, clearer notices, stronger safeguards, a Korean-language privacy policy and a domestic representative. Korean organizations should confirm how those requirements apply to their role and data categories rather than assuming that a foreign provider’s standard notice satisfies them.

What about customers and employees?

If staff or customer information may be entered into the service, update the relevant privacy notices and internal rules before deployment. Explain what information is sent, the purposes, destinations, retention approach and available rights. Obtain a separate approval for high-risk uses instead of allowing an ungoverned browser plug-in or personal account.

Questions a procurement contract should answer

A useful comparison with any other AI provider should use the same evidence-based axes:

Axis Evidence to request
Data residency and transfers Current processing map, countries, regional controls and transfer mechanisms.
Retention and deletion Category-by-category periods, account closure rules, backups, logs and deletion certificates.
Model development Training and evaluation policy, opt-out scope, default settings and treatment of historical data.
Subprocessors and support Named subprocessors, purposes, locations, notice of changes and human-access controls.
Legal basis and notices Data-processing terms, controller/processor allocation, user notices and rights assistance.
Isolation and auditability Tenant separation, encryption, identity controls, audit logs, testing reports and incident notification.

Bottom line

DeepSeek’s policy places prompts, uploads, account and payment details, and technical metadata within its collection scope, permits storage outside the user’s country and does not promise one universal retention period. South Korea documented transfers involving China, the United States and Beijing Volcano Engine Technology, as well as the use of user-entered data for AI development and training before an initial opt-out was available. Italy’s regulator restricted processing after finding the explanations and China-storage safeguards inadequate.

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Businesses should therefore prohibit confidential or regulated material in the ordinary hosted service until product-specific terms, transfer safeguards, training controls, retention, deletion and subprocessors have been verified. A separate local-processing statement for DeepSeek Harness is useful only for that product and cannot be used as evidence about every DeepSeek chatbot or API deployment.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

AI data governancecross-border data transfersDeepSeek privacyenterprise securityGDPR

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