How to Use DeepSeek Privately: Turn Off Training, Delete Your Data, Skip the Account

To use DeepSeek privately, turn off Improve the model for everyone in Settings, delete the chats you no longer need, and keep anything sensitive out of the official DeepSeek app. For real privacy, skip the DeepSeek account altogether: run an open DeepSeek model on your own computer, or use DeepSeek through another app.

The reason is where your data goes. DeepSeek's privacy policy (last updated 10 February 2026) says DeepSeek collects, processes and stores your personal data in the People's Republic of China. That covers your prompts, uploaded files and chat history, plus your IP address and device details. DeepSeek also uses what you type to train its models unless you opt out.

This guide walks through every privacy control in the DeepSeek web app as it looks in November 2026, what each one does and does not do, and the options that keep your data out of a DeepSeek account.

The Key Takeaways

• Turn off training: open Settings, go to the Data tab and switch off Improve the model for everyone. It stops training on your chats, not collection.
• Your data is stored in China: DeepSeek's privacy policy says it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People's Republic of China.
• Delete what you no longer need: delete single chats from the sidebar, and find Delete all chats, Shared links and Export data in the Data tab. Delete account is under Profile.
• Deleting is not a full wipe: DeepSeek's Terms of Use let it keep some data after you delete your account where laws require it.
• For real privacy, skip the DeepSeek account: run an open DeepSeek model on your own computer, or use DeepSeek through a third-party app.

How to Set Up DeepSeek for Better Privacy

DeepSeek's privacy controls live in one place: the Settings window of the web app, which you open from the profile menu. The screenshots below date from July 2025, when every control sat under the Profile tab. In the current web app (checked November 2026), the training switch, Export data and Delete all chats have moved to a separate Data tab, while Delete account stays under Profile.

1. How to Opt Out of DeepSeek Model Training

Turn off Improve the model for everyone to stop DeepSeek using your chats for training. DeepSeek's Terms of Use (updated 27 March 2026) name this switch as the way to refuse. With the switch on, DeepSeek may use your inputs and outputs, after de-identification, to improve its services and the technology behind them.

The switch covers training only. It does not stop DeepSeek collecting or storing your chats, and the privacy policy still lists device data, logs and your approximate location as collected automatically.

• To turn off training:

1. Open the profile menu and choose Settings.

2. Open the Data tab. In the July 2025 screenshot below, the switch was still under Profile.

3. Switch off Improve the model for everyone.

Good practice: opting out deletes nothing. Combine it with the deletion steps below, and keep sensitive material out of DeepSeek altogether.

2. How to Clear DeepSeek Chat History

You can delete one chat from the sidebar or every chat at once from Settings. DeepSeek warns that deleting all chats is permanent: "All chat history will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. Any shared links will be disabled." Deleting clears the chats from your account. DeepSeek's privacy policy gives no timeline for removing copies from its systems.

• To delete a single chat in DeepSeek:

1. Find the conversation in the chat list and click the three dots.

2. Click Delete.

• To delete all conversations at once:

1. Open the profile menu and choose Settings.

2. Open the Data tab (Profile in the July 2025 screenshot).

3. Next to Delete all chats, click Delete all and confirm.

If you ever shared a chat, open Shared links in the same Data tab, click Manage and delete the link. DeepSeek's privacy policy warns that shared conversations published online may be picked up by web crawlers.

3. Export Your Data and Delete Your DeepSeek Account

DeepSeek lets you export your account information and full chat history, and delete your account. Export first if you want a copy: according to the privacy policy, a deleted account cannot be reactivated and its content cannot be retrieved.

Deleting the account does not guarantee every record is gone. DeepSeek's Terms of Use say that even after you delete your account, DeepSeek may keep "certain data of the user as required by laws and regulations". You can also ask for access to, correction of or deletion of your personal data by emailing [email protected].

• To export your data:

1. Open the profile menu and choose Settings.

2. Open the Data tab (Profile in the July 2025 screenshot).

3. Click Export next to Export data. DeepSeek prepares your account information and chat history, and the download link stays valid for 7 days.

• To delete your DeepSeek account:

1. Open Settings and go to the Profile tab.

2. Click Delete next to Delete account and confirm.

4. Run DeepSeek on Your Own Computer

Running a DeepSeek model on your own hardware is the only setup in which your prompts never leave your machine. DeepSeek releases its model weights under the MIT License, "allowing users to freely download and deploy them", according to its model disclosure. A local model needs no DeepSeek account and sends nothing to DeepSeek.

The catch is hardware. Ollama lists DeepSeek-R1 in sizes from 1.5b to 671b parameters, and only the smaller sizes fit on an ordinary computer. DeepSeek's newest V4 models appear on Ollama as cloud models, which run on Ollama's servers, not yours. Developers can also reach DeepSeek models through US cloud platforms such as Amazon Bedrock, which offers them as fully managed, serverless models.

5. Use DeepSeek in Fello AI Without a DeepSeek Account

If you want DeepSeek without creating a DeepSeek account, Fello AI includes DeepSeek alongside ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in one app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. You never give DeepSeek an email address, phone number or date of birth, and your chat history stays on your device instead of in a DeepSeek account. If an answer looks off, ask Claude or ChatGPT the same question in the same window.

Fello AI's privacy policy says it does not store your conversations on its servers and keeps your history on your device, synced through iCloud if you have iCloud enabled. Your messages still go to the model that answers them, and the policy lists DeepSeek among those providers. So the rule from DeepSeek's own site still applies: keep passwords, health records and client data out of the chat.

Privacy Habits That Keep You Safer

Good habits cut what DeepSeek can link to you, whichever way you use it. None of them hides what you type: a prompt sent to DeepSeek arrives in full.

• Use a separate email address. DeepSeek's Terms of Use require an account registered with an email address or a third-party account, so use an address you keep for DeepSeek only.
• Use a reputable VPN. DeepSeek works out your approximate location from your IP address, and a VPN hides that address. A VPN does not hide the content of your chats.
• Use a private browser window. The DeepSeek website uses cookies, and a private window discards them when you close it. DeepSeek says cookies do not apply to its mobile app, but the app still collects device identifiers.
• Never upload code, client documents or personal records. DeepSeek's privacy policy asks you not to provide sensitive personal data, and anything you upload is stored with your account.
• Skip Google and Apple sign-in. When you log in through a third-party service, DeepSeek's privacy policy says it may collect personal data from that service, such as an access token.
• Use a secondary browser profile or container. A Firefox container or a separate profile keeps your DeepSeek session apart from your everyday browsing.

What Data DeepSeek Collects About You

DeepSeek collects your account details, everything you type or upload, and technical data about your device, according to its privacy policy (last updated 10 February 2026). The data controller is Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., and the data is processed and stored in the People's Republic of China.

DeepSeek uses this data to run the service and to train and improve its models. It shares data with service providers and with companies in its corporate group, including for foundation model training and optimization. It may also share personal data with law enforcement agencies and public authorities to comply with "applicable law, legal process or government requests".

Two more details matter. DeepSeek keeps your account data and inputs for as long as you have an account. And DeepSeek's privacy policy does not cover apps that other developers build on its platform: there, the app's developer controls your data and its own privacy policy applies.

Which Settings and Tools Reduce DeepSeek Tracking?

Each setting or tool covers a different part of what DeepSeek collects:

• Skip the DeepSeek account: with a local model or a third-party app, DeepSeek never gets your account details or a chat history tied to your account.
• Turn off Improve the model for everyone: stops your chats being used for training. It does not stop collection or storage.
• Use a VPN: hides your IP address and approximate location. It does not hide your prompts.
• Use a private window or a separate browser profile: keeps DeepSeek's cookies away from your everyday browsing.
• Never paste sensitive or private data into DeepSeek. Nothing else protects what you type once it reaches DeepSeek's servers.

Conclusion

DeepSeek is not private by default. It stores your data in China, trains on your chats unless you switch that off, and keeps your account data for as long as your account exists.

For everyday use, turn off Improve the model for everyone, delete the chats and shared links you no longer need, and keep sensitive material out. For real privacy, take the DeepSeek account out of the picture: run an open DeepSeek model on your own computer, or use DeepSeek through an app that does not need a DeepSeek account.

For the wider picture, our guide to whether DeepSeek is safe for US and EU users covers what its data practices mean where you live, and our guide to using AI without giving up your privacy covers habits that work on every chatbot. On a Mac, our DeepSeek desktop client guide for macOS compares the apps that keep your account out of it.

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