Do you need to delete this app?
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With DeepSeek ascending to the top of Google’s Play Store after doing the same on Apple’s App Store, there are millions of Americans now using an app the U.S. Navy has banned on “security and ethical” grounds, that has been blocked on the App Store and Play Store in Italy, and which admits to a nightmarish privacy policy that harvests your data and sends it all to China. So, as the instant-fix gloss begins to fade — at least a little — should you delete the viral Chinese app you have installed on your phone?
DeepSeek’s privacy policy is an unapologetic catch-all. It’s so stark, in fact, that it’s very likely the platform doesn’t really collect as much as it says. There is certainly a disconnect between its app data labels — the app store warnings on data collection — and its privacy policy in terms of how the app itself is behaving on your phone. Permission abuse is rife, as we know, and Google’s confirmation yesterday that it will start stripping sensitive permissions from apps that misbehave is very welcome. But DeepSeek’s threat is in how the platform is used and the data it is given, not the unrelated phone data its app collects.
That said, the level of data being collected and sent to China and then stored indefinitely is a huge red flag. That’s what has prompted the raft of security warnings and regulatory and security enquiries heading in DeepSeek’s direction, not just the sledgehammer it took to U.S. tech stocks earlier this week and to business plans. There are also some creepy elements to its privacy policy that should give you pause. Recording your “keystroke patterns or rhythms,” for example.
There are also some more basic, even mundane security considerations. It has been quite the week for China’s newest disruptor or Trojan Horse, depending on your point of view, with reports of cyberattacks and data breaches coming almost simultaneously. And as a rule, where there are these implied coding and platform vulnerabilities, you should also give some thought to installing software from the same source within your own firewalled environment.
That said, my advice has not changed from earlier in the week. Install and continue to use the app if you feel the need. Do not send any sensitive prompts, and definitely do not upload files or media. Once it has gone to China, it has gone to China. And keep a regular check on the permissions granted and used by the app within your settings. Do not allow it access to your phone, microphone, camera, photo album or file storage if it ever asks.
I suspect the decision as to whether to keep the app might be taken out of your hands. DeepSeek is more dangerous than TikTok, just by virtue of its ongoing Chinese base with no U.S. wrap and that it’s a blatantly Chinese-trained AI model with all the nuances and biases you’d expect to comply with local laws. It would be foolish to bet against some form of ban or restriction, especially with the revelation it’s running on Huawei’s AI chips.
If you’re security minded, though, then my advice would be to delete the app now, unless you really have made the decision to take a risk. And if you keep it for now, then once you stop using the app, don’t leave it on your phone.
