DeepSeek impact: India keeps vigil as privacy fears run deep

The Indian government has been closely monitoring the surge of DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence model to the top of the app store charts amid concerns regarding data safety and sovereignty of citizens, particularly since the company is based in China, said people with knowledge of the matter. On Wednesday, Chinese giant Alibaba announced the latest release of its own AI model Qwen and said it exceeds the powers of the DeepSeek app.

Indian officials said these are open-source models that can run locally on devices but their privacy policies state that data can be stored in servers in China, sparking concern.

“We are monitoring. There is nothing alarming as of now but if there is an issue around data transfer, we will take action as we did in the past,” a senior government official told ET.


India had banned several Chinese apps in 2020, including TikTok and WeChat, amid border tensions, citing espionage concerns.

Also Read: ETtech Explainer: What is DeepSeek, China's competitor to OpenAI?

Officials said a clearer picture will emerge in about a week on the movement of Indian citizens’ data out of India and into China. In case such information is being misused or transferred, action will be taken under the IT rules, they said.

Experts said the data of users who download the apps is likely to be stored in China, citing the DeepSeek privacy policy.

“We store the information we collect in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China,” states the DeepSeek policy, adding, “Where we transfer any personal information out of the country where you live, including for one or more of the purposes as set out in this policy, we will do so in accordance with the requirements of applicable data protection laws”.

Also Read: DeepSeek's fast rise sparks debate on Indian AI models

Ever since DeepSeek emerged as the next big thing on the AI stage, becoming the top free downloaded app in the US on Apple’s App Store, governments across the world have taken a guarded stance. In India, DeepSeek is among the top free productivity apps on the Google Play Store along with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's Gemini.

US officials said on Tuesday that they were investigating the national security implications of the DeepSeek model while Australia has urged its citizens to be cautious when using the app. Italy’s data protection authority has also raised questions over personal data.

Also Read: ETtech Explainer: The story behind DeepSeek’s greener and leaner chatbot

Some privacy experts noted that even without storing data, such apps can profile a user based on the questions asked (prompts) that can then be misused.

“The rules empower the government to prevent such data flows—it is an enabling provision. The government would take a decision when the need arises,” a second official said.

The ministry of home affairs, the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) and law enforcement agencies are among those keeping a close watch at the highest levels, said the officials cited. The department of telecommunications (DoT) will also be involved if any suspicious data flows are detected.