Written on 6 November 2026. The regulatory information dates from 2025; I found no recent source on the status of the proceedings.
My starting point
I tested it, through the API, for development.
What it does well
- API access: the official documentation presents endpoints compatible with those of OpenAI and Anthropic, which makes integration into existing tools easier.
- Recent models: the release notes page mentions DeepSeek-V4-Pro and DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on the day I read it (no publication date shown).
- Appeal for development: the documentation mentions integrations with AI-assisted programming tools.
Where I stay wary: data
- DeepSeek’s privacy policy states, according to the press, that users’ data is stored on servers in China and may be shared with affiliated companies and service providers.
- In January 2025, the Italian data protection authority (the Garante) blocked access to the app while it checked how data is collected and stored; the Berlin commissioner asked Apple and Google to remove the app, judging the transfer of data to China non-compliant with GDPR; the French CNIL announced it would examine its practices. This information comes from the press of the time.
- I found no recent source on the current status of these proceedings. Check the statements of the Garante, the Berlin authority and the CNIL before relying on this paragraph.
Practical consequence: avoid it, in its app as on its website, for any professional or personal data.
What interests me: value for money. No client or colleague has asked me about using it in a company. My rule, for every assistant: never a password, bank details or IBAN, and never a first or last name.
IT use cases (without real data)
| Need | What I ask it | Precaution |
|---|---|---|
| Syntax question | A command option, a regular expression | No client data, nothing internal |
| Exercise, learning | A fictional sample script | Test in a lab |
| API integration | Evaluate a model on public or synthetic data | Never production data |
Privacy and GDPR
- Do not paste professional or personal data.
- For business use, assess the contract and where processing takes place before anything else; if you cannot conclude, pass.
- If you use published model weights and run them yourself, the data question is different: your own infrastructure then does the processing, and securing it is up to you. Check the licence of the model you use, which I could not confirm on the page I read.
Pricing and versions
I could not read an official price list for the app; the API documentation publishes per-model prices. Check the official platform the day you decide.
What to do
- Do not open it to the team for work data without a written assessment.
- To test, use fictional data.
- Write a rule: “no AI tool that has not been approved for work data”.
- Read the authorities’ statements before taking a position.
Sources
- DeepSeek API release notes (official page), read on 6 November 2026
- Journal du Geek, 30 January 2025: DeepSeek banned in Europe (French)
- IT-Connect: Germany asks Google and Apple to remove the app (French)
- CNIL: artificial intelligence (French)
