AI tools and client data

Is DeepSeek safe for client data?

Short answer: Whether DeepSeek is safe for client data turns on which plan your staff are on, which account they signed in with, and what you have told them they may put in it — not on the product itself. On The DeepSeek app and website, DeepSeek may use what staff type to train its models; on DeepSeek Platform (API), we did not find a statement about model training in the pages we read. Every fact on this page is DeepSeek's own, quoted from its own pages and dated, and where we did not find a statement this page says so rather than filling the gap. Obsidian Ridge's free 30-day AI security assessment shows which AI tools your staff actually use.

By Kfir Yair, CISSP. Published . Updated .

See which AI tools your staff use

Plan by plan, in DeepSeek’s own words

A free assistant that staff reach for because it costs nothing and answers well. The question for a regulated practice is not quality; it is where the text goes.

What you are askingThe DeepSeek app and websiteDeepSeek Platform (API)
Trains the vendor's models by defaultYes. DeepSeek lists training its models among the purposes for the content people type in.“To improve and develop the Services and to train and improve our technology, such as our machine learning models and algorithms.” source, read Not found in the pages we read.
How to turn training offDeepSeek lists an opt-out right for training, exercised by asking rather than by a switch in the app.“the right to opt-out of using your Personal Data for training our models or optimizing our technologies.” source, read Not found in the pages we read.
How long data is keptFor as long as the account exists, on DeepSeek's own account of it.“we keep this Personal Data for as long as you have an account” source, read Not found in the pages we read.
What an admin can see or controlNot found in the pages we read.Not found in the pages we read.
Single sign-onNot found in the pages we read.Not found in the pages we read.
Business Associate AgreementNot found in the pages we read.Not found in the pages we read.
Where the data is processedIn China. This is the sentence that decides it for most regulated practices, and DeepSeek states it plainly.“we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People's Republic of China.” source, read Not found in the pages we read.

An empty cell is not a reassurance and not a criticism. "Not found in the pages we read." means the DeepSeek pages listed under Sources, read on the dates shown, do not answer it — so there is nothing for us to repeat, and something for you to ask DeepSeek before client information goes near it.

What this means for

The duty does not change because the tool is new. What changes is where the client information ends up.

  • Law firms. A client confidence pasted into a personal account has left the firm’s control. Our law firm page sets out the duties we build evidence for; the decision here is whether a personal account may touch a client matter at all.
  • Dental and medical practices. We didn't find a BAA statement in the pages listed below; ask DeepSeek before any patient data goes in. See dental practices.
  • CPA and accounting firms. Your written information security plan has to describe the tools people actually use, not the ones you approved. See accounting firms.
  • Financial advisers. Client account data in a personal assistant is the exposure; see financial advisers.
  • Software teams. A coding assistant reads the repository and can run commands, so the question is what it can reach, not what it was asked. See what AI agents on work laptops can reach.

How to tell which version your staff use

The plan is the whole answer, and you cannot tell from the outside. Three ways to find out, in order of how much they prove.

  1. 1. Ask

    Quick, free, and incomplete. People forget the tool they installed once and the account they signed in with.

  2. 2. Look at the billing and the admin console

    This finds what the business pays for. It does not find a personal account, which is the one that matters here.

  3. 3. Look on the computers

    A tool somebody installed themselves never appears in an IT list. Obsidian Ridge’s free 30-day AI security assessment takes a quiet inventory for 30 days and shows what each tool could reach, then a CISSP goes through it with you. See the assessment, or read a sample set of findings.

Settings to check today

From DeepSeek’s own documentation. Each one is a change somebody can make this afternoon.

  • Treat everything typed in as collected, including files and images, and decide whether it may touch client work at all.“we may collect your text input, voice input, prompt, uploaded files, photos, feedback, chat history” source, read

Worth knowing

  • The policy that answers these questions does not reach anything built on the API, so a tool with DeepSeek inside it is a separate question.“applications developed by developers using our open platform services are not covered by this privacy policy.” source, read

Questions we get asked

Is DeepSeek safe for client data?

Whether DeepSeek is safe for client data turns on which plan your staff are on, which account they signed in with, and what you have told them they may put in it — not on the product itself.

On The DeepSeek app and website, DeepSeek may use what staff type to train its models; on DeepSeek Platform (API), we did not find a statement about model training in the pages we read.

Every fact on this page is DeepSeek's own, quoted from its own pages and dated, and where we did not find a statement this page says so rather than filling the gap.

Does DeepSeek train its models on what our staff type into DeepSeek?

On The DeepSeek app and website, DeepSeek may use what staff type to train its models; on DeepSeek Platform (API), we did not find a statement about model training in the pages we read. On The DeepSeek app and website: Yes.

DeepSeek lists training its models among the purposes for the content people type in.

DeepSeek's own words: "To improve and develop the Services and to train and improve our technology, such as our machine learning models and algorithms." (read 2026-11-02). On DeepSeek Platform (API): Not found in the pages we read.

How long does DeepSeek keep what we put into DeepSeek?

On The DeepSeek app and website: For as long as the account exists, on DeepSeek's own account of it. DeepSeek's own words: "we keep this Personal Data for as long as you have an account" (read 2026-11-02). On DeepSeek Platform (API): Not found in the pages we read.

Can an administrator read what our staff typed into DeepSeek?

Not found in the pages we read.

Will DeepSeek sign a Business Associate Agreement for DeepSeek?

We didn't find a BAA statement in the pages listed below; ask DeepSeek before any patient data goes in.

How do we find out which version of DeepSeek our staff are using?

Look on the computers. A tool somebody installed themselves, or signed into with a personal account, does not appear in any IT list. Obsidian Ridge's free 30-day AI security assessment takes that inventory for 30 days and shows what each tool could reach.

Sources

DeepSeek’s own pages, with the date each was read. Nothing on this page comes from anywhere else.

All 15 tools, side by side, or run the AI tool risk checker over the ones you know about.

Other tools people ask about

Same question, different answers. The ones in the same category are the ones staff swap between.