What Not to Share on DeepSeek
The big question is whether you think the fact that all of this data going to China is a problem for you. You have probably heard it all before, but there are already some concerning warnings about how this date may be manipulated for the benefit of the Chinese benefit of the Chinese regime. These include some dire predictions about cyber threats that directly target the West, utilize social engineering, and exploit vast quantities of sensitive data.
The fact that TikTok had around 170 million active monthly US users suggests that many people are not too concerned about these threats, despite repeated warnings from the government. This has absolutely been borne up by the explosion in use of another Chinese social media platform, RedNote, as the TikTok ban loomed.
If this isn’t a concern for you – and you are also aware of the data that AI models will be capturing as standard – then just take some sensible precautions.
- If you are a creator, as we warned with ChatGPT, if you share your original works, be prepared for them to be shared with another user
- Don’t input any sensitive or personal information into the AI assistant, such health or personal data
- Don’t use it to store your usernames/passwords
- Be aware that you can also delete your chat history in DeepSeek through the Settings option
- Don’t use the AI models if you are using a work network
- Don’t upload company sensitive documents or client information
It’s also worth noting that installing the app on your computer allows a greater level of privacy control, but if you’re unsure about it in the first place, having the app sit on your PC is unlikely to appeal.
Ultimately, if TikTok’s fate is anything to go by, the US government is quite likely to take action against US data flowing freely to China. TikTok’s data servers for US customers were not, after all, in China but it was still deemed enough of a threat to be banned.
While new AI offerings are fun – especially at low cost and with impressive capabilities – US users might soon be forced to return to “safer” options – even with their data grabbing tendencies. And this is not least because OpenAI and Anthropic have serious US money behind them and DeepSeek does not.
