01 / At a glance
DeepSeek in one page
Capable and inexpensive. The hosted app stores your data in the People's Republic of China. The model itself is open weight: you can run it on your own hardware instead.
| Hosted app data location | People's Republic of China, per DeepSeek's privacy policy (updated 10 Feb 2026). |
|---|---|
| Trains on your chats? | Yes, with a right to opt out. |
| Opt-out path | In Settings, under Data or Data controls: turn off Improve the model for everyone |
| Memory and instructions | Paste a short preamble at the start of each chat. |
| Government restrictions | US federal civilian agencies (Oct 2026), Australia, Czech Republic, some Canadian government phones, Italy. |
| Open weights | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and V4 Pro, MIT licence |
| Firm work | Not the hosted app. Run the open weights on your own hardware. |
The setup path
US federal order, published 20 October 2026
A DHS order, published in the Federal Register on 20 October 2026, excludes DeepSeek from federal civilian systems and procurement. It also covers third-party products built on DeepSeek.
Firms with US federal clients or contracts should check that order before deploying DeepSeek in any form, including open weights.
02 / Set it up
Five steps, in order
Do them in this order. Data controls come before anything personal goes in.
Compliance and legal review
Ask: do we have US federal, government, or regulated client obligations? Data stored in China may conflict with them. Get a decision before anyone signs up.
Settings > Data controls
If you use the hosted app, turn off Improve the model for everyone.
Use the hosted app only for questions you would be comfortable publishing. Data is kept for as long as you have an account.
huggingface.co/deepseek-ai
The weights are MIT licensed. Run them on your own hardware and nothing leaves your building. See DAP's briefing, Sovereign intelligence, explained.
Settings
Delete chat history you no longer need. EU and UK requests go to DeepSeek's representative, Prighter.
03 / The master prompt
Let DeepSeek set itself up
Paste this into a new chat. It interviews you, then writes your setup for you.
You are my setup chief of staff for DeepSeek. Your job: set DeepSeek up so it works the way I work, safely. Work in three stages. Ask one question at a time. Wait for my answer. STAGE 1. INTERVIEW (no more than 10 questions) Ask about: my role and organization, the work I want help with, the five tasks I repeat most, the tools I use every day, how I like answers written (length, tone, format), and what I must never share with an AI tool. STAGE 2. WRITE MY SETUP a) My opening preamble (DeepSeek has no saved instructions, so I will paste it at the start of each chat) text. Keep it under 800 characters. Write it in plain sentences. Put the most important rules first. b) Three reusable prompts for my most common tasks, using public information only. c) A clear list of what I must never ask you, given my data is stored in China. d) A checklist of the privacy settings I should confirm, with where to find each one in DeepSeek. STAGE 3. TEST Give me three test prompts that prove the setup works, and describe what a good answer looks like for each. RULES - Do not invent features. If you are not sure a setting exists in DeepSeek today, say so and tell me where to check. - Never ask me for passwords, account numbers, client names, or personal data. If I start to share them, stop me. - Plain language. Short sentences. Tables where they help.
04 / Govern first
Best practices
- Turn off model training before your first real prompt
- Use an approved business tier for firm work, or nothing
- Keep one workspace per recurring task
- Check every number and citation it gives you
- A person signs off before anything leaves the building
- Passwords, API keys, or access tokens
- Client names, account numbers, or holdings
- Material non-public information
- Personal data about staff or members
- Anything under a confidentiality agreement
Specific to DeepSeek
- Treat everything typed into the hosted app as stored outside Canada, under PRC law.
- Check the DHS order if you serve US federal clients. It reaches products built on DeepSeek.
- If you run the open weights, download only from DeepSeek's official Hugging Face page, and prefer safetensors files.
- Test a local model on your own tasks before trusting it. Open weights are not automatically safe or accurate.
Starter instructions
Prefer to write them yourself? Fill in the brackets, then paste into the start of each new chat.
About me: I am a [role] at a [type of organization]. I use you for [three main jobs]. How to answer: - Lead with the answer, then the reason. - Keep it short. Use tables for comparisons. - Say plainly when you are unsure, and how I can check. - Cite a source for every number or factual claim. Never: - Invent figures, quotes, or sources. - Give a final legal, tax, or investment decision. Flag it for a person. - Ask me for client names, account numbers, or passwords.
05 / Data and controls
What to check, and where
| Data location | Collected, processed, and stored in the PRC (privacy policy). |
|---|---|
| Training | Used for training, with a right to opt out. |
| Retention | As long as you have an account, and longer for legal reasons. |
| Delete | Copy or delete chat history in settings. |
| EU and UK requests | Representative: Prighter. |
| Restrictions | US DHS order (Oct 2026). Australia (Feb 2025). Canada, some government phones (Feb 2025). Italy (Jan 2025). Czech Republic (Jul 2025). |
| Local option | V4.1 Flash: 1M-token context, MIT licence. Runs on vLLM, SGLang, llama.cpp, Ollama. |
06 / Sources
Where every fact comes from
- DeepSeek privacy policy
https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-privacy-policy.html - DeepSeek API updates
https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates/ - Kaspersky: DeepSeek privacy settings (Oct 2025)
https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/deepseek-privacy-and-security/54643/ - Federal Register: DeepSeek exclusion order (20 Oct 2026)
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/20/2026-21447/notice-of-order-regarding-exclusion-and-removal-of-deepseek-products-from-federal-civilian-executive - Reuters: US bans DeepSeek from agency systems (Oct 2026)
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-banning-chinese-ai-deepseek-government-agency-it-systems-2026-10-19/ - Garante (Italy) order, Jan 2025
https://www.garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10098477 - CTV: DeepSeek restricted on Canadian government phones
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/ai-chatbot-from-chinese-firm-deepseek-restricted-from-some-government-phones/ - Dawn: Australia removes DeepSeek from government systems
https://www.dawn.com/news/1889824 - Berlin data protection authority (Jun 2025)
https://www.datenschutz-berlin.de/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/pressemitteilungen/2025/20250627-BlnBDI-Press-Release_DeepSeek.pdf - Introl: government bans tracker
https://introl.com/blog/deepseek-government-bans-spreading-worldwide-2026 - DeepSeek V4.1 Flash model card
https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 - DeepSeek V4 Pro model card
https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4-Pro-0813
Settings checked on 29 October 2026. Platforms change their menus often. Follow the source links before relying on a path. This guide is general information. It is not legal, compliance, or investment advice.