DeepSeek should not be used for company work. Our verdict for a typical 50–500 person company handling client or regulated data, assessed 29 July 2026: Prohibited. DeepSeek’s own privacy policy states it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China and uses data to train its models, and Italy’s data protection authority ordered an urgent block on processing Italian users’ data. There is no enterprise governance tier to fix any of that. This is the clean example of a Prohibited-tier tool: capable model, unacceptable data terms for company use. Block it and offer approved alternatives.
This verdict reflects DeepSeek (Hangzhou)’s published terms as we read them on 29 July 2026. A vendor can change its terms the day after; the primary sources below are how you check.
| Vendor | DeepSeek (Hangzhou) |
|---|---|
| Category | General assistant |
| Our tier verdict | Prohibited (assessed 29 July 2026) — DeepSeek’s own privacy policy states it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China and uses data to train its models, and Italy’s data protection authority ordered an urgent block on processing Italian users’ data. There is no enterprise governance tier to fix any of that. source |
| Trains on your data? | Yes Yes, with an opt-out on request. DeepSeek’s privacy policy describes using data to train and improve its models and lists, among your rights, "the right to opt-out of using your Personal Data for training our models or optimizing our technologies" — an opt-out you must exercise, not a default. source |
| Data retention | DeepSeek states it directly collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China, and retains personal data for as long as necessary to provide its services. source |
| Admin controls | None. No enterprise tier, no admin console, and no data-processing agreement suitable for a US/EU company. |
| Compliance certifications | None found in DeepSeek’s published policies on this check date. |
| HIPAA / BAA | No — No. |
Yes, with an opt-out on request. DeepSeek’s privacy policy describes using data to train and improve its models and lists, among your rights, "the right to opt-out of using your Personal Data for training our models or optimizing our technologies" — an opt-out you must exercise, not a default.
Retention: DeepSeek states it directly collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China, and retains personal data for as long as necessary to provide its services.
No. As a rule: no signed Business Associate Agreement means no protected health information (PHI) — a BAA is the gate, not the security posture. A vendor can hold every certification on the market and still be the wrong place for PHI, because what makes PHI processing lawful for a covered entity is the contract, not the encryption.
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Not verified from a primary document on this check date. None found in DeepSeek’s published policies on this check date. Ask for the current SOC 2 report under NDA before you rely on it. A certification is also not a contract: it describes how DeepSeek runs its controls, not what your agreement with them permits.
Do not allow DeepSeek anywhere near patient information. No.
DeepSeek fails the basic vendor-due-diligence test for financial services: inputs feed the vendor’s models and there is no auditable control surface. SEC/FINRA recordkeeping duties also mean untracked AI channels are an examination finding waiting to happen.
Privilege and DeepSeek do not mix: entering client matter details into a consumer AI service you cannot govern is an uncontrolled disclosure risk no engagement letter contemplates.
Every vendor claim above traces to a document the vendor publishes, and every document below is one we actually opened and read — each carries the date we read it. All of them were read on 29 July 2026. The verdict date on this page is not a build stamp and is not "today": it is the oldest of those dates, because a verdict is only as current as the stalest document under it. Rebuilding the site does not move it.
Where a fact is not in one of these documents, the page says so rather than filling the gap. That is why some rows read "not publicly documented" or "not established from a primary source" instead of naming a certification or rounding an open question to a convenient answer.
Why the tier verdict is "generic": Prohibited is the right starting classification for most 50–500 person companies — but a healthcare company, a law firm, and a SaaS startup should not have identical tool lists. The $79 policy kit classifies DeepSeek and 25 other tools specifically for your industry, company size, and the data your team handles.
And a verdict has a shelf life: vendor data policies change quietly — a terms update can move a tool between tiers overnight. This page states what we read on 29 July 2026. The $149/mo Monitor plan exists precisely because that date keeps receding.
DeepSeek should not be used for company work. Our verdict for a typical 50–500 person company handling client or regulated data, assessed 29 July 2026: Prohibited. DeepSeek’s own privacy policy states it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China and uses data to train its models, and Italy’s data protection authority ordered an urgent block on processing Italian users’ data. There is no enterprise governance tier to fix any of that. This is the clean example of a Prohibited-tier tool: capable model, unacceptable data terms for company use. Block it and offer approved alternatives.
Yes, with an opt-out on request. DeepSeek’s privacy policy describes using data to train and improve its models and lists, among your rights, "the right to opt-out of using your Personal Data for training our models or optimizing our technologies" — an opt-out you must exercise, not a default.
No. As a rule: no signed Business Associate Agreement means no protected health information (PHI) — a BAA is the gate, not the security posture. A vendor can hold every certification on the market and still be the wrong place for PHI, because what makes PHI processing lawful for a covered entity is the contract, not the encryption.
Not verified from a primary document on this check date. None found in DeepSeek’s published policies on this check date. Ask for the current SOC 2 report under NDA before you rely on it. A certification is also not a contract: it describes how DeepSeek runs its controls, not what your agreement with them permits.
We classify DeepSeek as Prohibited for a typical 50–500 person company, assessed 29 July 2026. DeepSeek’s own privacy policy states it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China and uses data to train its models, and Italy’s data protection authority ordered an urgent block on processing Italian users’ data. There is no enterprise governance tier to fix any of that. Your own classification should reflect your industry, data types, and which plan or account type your company actually uses.
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