DeepSeek
DeepSeek (Chat and Open Platform API)
Provider: Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. · Based in: Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., 'registered address in Chi… · Provider website
- Plans
- 2
- Sources
- 6
- As of
- 18 Oct
As of 18 Oct 2026. Based on our research on this date and the process described in the methodology. No guarantee of accuracy, not legal advice. The provider’s current documents take precedence. Found an error? Report a correction.
Incomplete. 6 points could not be verified in any provider source (see open points). This does not mean the matter is unproblematic; it means we have not checked it.
At a glance
- Hosting
- not publicly documented: all 2 plans
- Training on inputs
- opt-out available: Chatnot publicly documented: Open Platform API
- DPA
- not publicly documented: all 2 plans
- Provider
- Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.
- Based in
- Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., 'registered address in China' (privacy policy, q2; terms of use, q3); exact address not stated on the retrieved pages
Values from 2 plans, each listed with the plans it applies to. Details and evidence are in the plan table.
Compare DeepSeek
Compare with another toolCompared plan by plan with other tools in the category AI assistants & search:
Details per plan
Short values per plan. Click a feature to open the evidence and notes for all plans; sources with retrieval dates are under “Evidence”.
| Feature | Chat (web and app)Compare DeepSeek Chat (web and app) with another tool | Open Platform API (usage-based)Compare DeepSeek Open Platform API (usage-based) with another tool |
|---|---|---|
| differs by plan | free | per token |
| Details: Price | free of charge (website app description: 'Chat with leading AI models for free.'; no paid chat plan found) | Per 1M tokens, in USD (pricing page): deepseek-flash: input (cache hit) USD 0.003 off-peak / USD 0.006 peak; input (cache miss) USD 0.15 / USD 0.3; output USD 0.6 / USD 1.2. deepseek-v4-pro: cache hit USD 0.022 / USD 0.044; cache miss USD 0.66 / USD 1.32; output USD 1.98 / USD 3.96. Peak hours: 01:00-04:00 and 06:00-10:00 UTC, Monday to Friday (excluding Chinese public holidays); otherwise half price. Search and Fetch API USD 0.75 each per 1,000 successful requests. Billed against topped-up or granted credit; DeepSeek may change prices; no indication whether incl. VAT. |
| yes | yes | |
| Details: AI features included | yes (AI chatbot; according to the terms of use, services based on large language models) | yes (models deepseek-flash = DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and deepseek-v4-pro = DeepSeek-V4-Pro-0813, each with 1M-token context, up to 384K output, thinking/non-thinking mode, tool calls, JSON output, Responses API, OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible interface; vision only with deepseek-flash; additionally Search and Fetch API) |
| not publicly documented | not publicly documented | |
| Details: DPA | not publicly documented | not publicly documented |
| differs by plan | opt-out available | not publicly documented |
| Details: Training on inputs | Terms of use (as of 2026-03-27, section 4.3): DeepSeek may use inputs and outputs 'to a minimal extent', after encryption and de-identification, to improve the services and the underlying technologies; opt-out available by switching off 'Improve the model for everyone'. Privacy policy: data is used, among other things, to train and improve the models; right to object to use for training. Document 'Model Mechanism and Training Methods of DeepSeek': in the optimisation phase, a small portion of the training data may be based on user input, which is then encrypted, de-identified and anonymised. | The Open Platform terms (effective 2026-04-29) govern ownership of inputs and outputs (the customer retains rights to inputs and receives rights to outputs) but contain no express statement on the use of API inputs for training; they refer to the document 'Model Principles and Training Methods Explanation', which likewise does not distinguish between chat and API. The terms of use (section 4.3) and the privacy policy apply to 'Services' in general; an API-specific opt-out is not described. For end-user data in its own applications, according to the privacy policy and the Open Platform terms (5.5), the developer is the controller. |
| Privacy policy: storage for as long as… | Privacy policy: storage for as long as… | |
| Details: Data retention | Privacy policy: storage for as long as necessary for the services and the stated purposes; for accounts, as long as the account exists; legal and legitimate interests may justify longer retention. Fixed retention periods: not publicly documented. Chat history can be deleted in the settings; after account deletion, access cannot be restored. | Privacy policy: storage for as long as necessary for the services and the stated purposes; for accounts, as long as the account exists; legal and legitimate interests may justify longer retention. Fixed retention periods: not publicly documented. API-specific retention: not publicly documented. |
| not publicly documented | not publicly documented | |
| Details: Hosting | Privacy policy (as of 2026-02-10): 'we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People's Republic of China'. The category 'US only/EU option' does not apply; the selection list does not include China, hence 'not publicly documented' as the enum value here. An EU or US region: not publicly documented. | Privacy policy (as of 2026-02-10): 'we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People's Republic of China'. The category 'US only/EU option' does not apply; the selection list does not include China, hence 'not publicly documented' as the enum value here. An EU or US region: not publicly documented. Region of API processing: not publicly documented. |
| not publicly documented | not publicly documented | |
| Details: Sub-processors | not publicly documented | not publicly documented |
| differs by plan | 4 sources | 5 sources |
| Details: Sources with retrieval date |
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Compare DeepSeek Chat (web and app) with another tool
Price and scope
- differs by plan
- free
free of charge (website app description: 'Chat with leading AI models for free.'; no paid chat plan found)
- yes
yes (AI chatbot; according to the terms of use, services based on large language models)
Contract and data use
- not publicly documented
not publicly documented
- differs by plan
- opt-out available
Terms of use (as of 2026-03-27, section 4.3): DeepSeek may use inputs and outputs 'to a minimal extent', after encryption and de-identification, to improve the services and the underlying technologies; opt-out available by switching off 'Improve the model for everyone'. Privacy policy: data is used, among other things, to train and improve the models; right to object to use for training. Document 'Model Mechanism and Training Methods of DeepSeek': in the optimisation phase, a small portion of the training data may be based on user input, which is then encrypted, de-identified and anonymised.
- Privacy policy: storage for as long as…
- Privacy policy: storage for as long as necessary for the services and the stated purposes; for accounts, as long as the account exists; legal and legitimate interests may justify longer retention. Fixed retention periods: not publicly documented. Chat history can be deleted in the settings; after account deletion, access cannot be restored.
Hosting and sharing
- not publicly documented
Privacy policy (as of 2026-02-10): 'we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People's Republic of China'. The category 'US only/EU option' does not apply; the selection list does not include China, hence 'not publicly documented' as the enum value here. An EU or US region: not publicly documented.
- not publicly documented
- not publicly documented
Evidence
- differs by plan
- 4 sources
- DeepSeek Privacy Policy (Last Update 2026-02-10)Privacy notice, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek Terms of Use (Last Update 2026-03-27)Terms and conditions, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Model Mechanism and Training Methods of DeepSeekDocumentation, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek website (home page and Transparency Center)Product page, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
not documentedmeans: not publicly documented, not verifiable in any provider source. It does not mean “no”.
Third-country transfers
Privacy policy (as of 2026-02-10): personal data is collected, processed and stored directly in the People's Republic of China. 'Where required', DeepSeek uses appropriate safeguards for transfers from certain countries; which ones (standard contractual clauses or similar) is not publicly documented. According to the privacy policy, 'Prighter Group with its local partners' is designated as data protection representative and point of contact for the EU and UK (contact rep_deepseek@prighter.com; evidence via the Prighter portal). Terms of use: the law of the People's Republic of China (mainland) applies; place of jurisdiction is the company's registered office.
- DeepSeek Privacy Policy (Last Update 2026-02-10) (Privacy notice), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek Terms of Use (Last Update 2026-03-27) (Terms and conditions), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
Certifications (as stated by the provider)
not publicly documented(no certification such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2 named in the privacy policy, terms of use, Open Platform terms or on the pricing page).
- Models & Pricing (Pricing page), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek Privacy Policy (Last Update 2026-02-10) (Privacy notice), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek Terms of Use (Last Update 2026-03-27) (Terms and conditions), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek Open Platform Terms of Service (effective 2026-04-29) (Terms and conditions), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
AI Act
Functions: Generative AI chat and model API (text, tool calls, JSON output, partly vision) based on large language models (pricing page, terms of use).
Provider’s statement: not publicly documented(the EU AI Act is not mentioned on the retrieved pages). Terms of use: users should label AI-generated outputs as such (section 3.1), and outputs may contain errors. The Transparency Center publishes model cards and technical reports (including DeepSeek-V4, 2026-04-24) as well as the document 'Model Mechanism and Training Methods of DeepSeek', without reference to the EU AI Act.
Classification (for review, not legal advice): To be reviewed: customer typically a deployer (Art. 3(4) AI Act); whether and how the provider acts on the EU market as a provider of a general-purpose AI model is not publicly documented. Not legal advice.
- DeepSeek Terms of Use (Last Update 2026-03-27) (Terms and conditions), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek Open Platform Terms of Service (effective 2026-04-29) (Terms and conditions), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Model Mechanism and Training Methods of DeepSeek (Documentation), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- DeepSeek website (home page and Transparency Center) (Product page), retrieved 18 Oct 2026
Current notes 2026
Privacy policy 2026-02-10, terms of use 2026-03-27, Open Platform terms 2026-04-22 (effective 2026-04-29). The API pricing page names peak and off-peak rates; according to the pricing page, deepseek-flash is now served by DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017, and the old names deepseek-v4-flash and deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp are still accepted and billed at the Flash price. According to the pricing page, Search and Fetch calls via DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex are free of charge until 2026-11-01 (00:00 Beijing time). The privacy policy does not cover processing by third-party applications built on the Open Platform.
Open points of the review
- No DPA, no sub-processor list (the privacy policy only names categories of service providers) and no specific transfer mechanism publicly documented.
- Use of API inputs for training not expressly governed either in the Open Platform terms or in the document on training methods; no API-specific opt-out described.
- The privacy policy names only criteria ('as long as necessary'), no specific retention periods.
- Certifications (e.g. ISO 27001, SOC 2) and an AI Act statement not found in the legal texts, pricing page or Transparency Center.
- Address of the company not stated in the privacy policy or terms of use ('registered address in China').
- The pricing page does not state whether API prices include VAT.
Frequently asked questions
Where does DeepSeek store data?
not publicly documented (plans: Chat (web and app), Open Platform API (usage-based)). Based on our research, as of 18 Oct 2026.
Is there a DPA for DeepSeek?
not publicly documented in: Chat (web and app), Open Platform API (usage-based). Based on our research, as of 18 Oct 2026.
Does DeepSeek use inputs for AI training?
opt-out available in: Chat (web and app); not publicly documented in: Open Platform API (usage-based). Based on our research, as of 18 Oct 2026.
Where is the provider based?
Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., 'registered address in China'; exact address not stated on the retrieved pages. According to the provider, as of 18 Oct 2026.
All sources
- 01Models & PricingPricing page · retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- 02DeepSeek Privacy Policy (Last Update 2026-02-10)Privacy notice · retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- 03DeepSeek Terms of Use (Last Update 2026-03-27)Terms and conditions · retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- 04DeepSeek Open Platform Terms of Service (effective 2026-04-29)Terms and conditions · retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- 05Model Mechanism and Training Methods of DeepSeekDocumentation · retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- 06DeepSeek website (home page and Transparency Center)Product page · retrieved 18 Oct 2026
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All tools in AI assistants & search · Tools with an EU hosting option
Further reading
All tools in the category: AI assistants & search. Figures across all tools: Data report.