DeepSeek R1, a new open-source AI from China, recently made headlines for rivaling ChatGPT despite limited access to high-tech AI chips. The news led to a stock market dip while the DeepSeek mobile app surged to #1 on the App Store.
However, concerns have emerged regarding user privacy and security. DeepSeek's privacy policy states that user data is sent to China, raising surveillance worries. The AI also has built-in censorship aligned with Chinese government policies and lacks robust safety protections, making it more prone to misuse.
Additionally, researchers discovered an unprotected DeepSeek database containing user data in plain text, suggesting a potential security breach that could have exposed user information to hackers.