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<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Interesting facts, if true. And I do believe that these specific mobile apps may be tied to the CCP. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">But let's not overgeneralize or jump the gun to conspiracy theories just yet. The original Deepseek developers left their entire database out in the open for awhile, until a tech person got in and pointed out to them that user details were readily obtained. That's not spyware, it's inept use of open source software. Different things. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Never attribute to malice what can be better explained by sheer incompetence. </span></span><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Anyone so inclined can with not a lot of resources or money, set up their own instance of Deepseek, with no reporting to anyone in China. This means that not all Deepseek instances are Chinese-controlled. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">The technology itself remains game-changing for LLMs and AI development. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Deepseek is not the mobile apps -- they are built on top of Deepseek. They may be by the same development team, but the offending code is not part of the underlying structure or function of the Deepseek project. The data collected, and the entire Terms of Service, of the mobile apps are for the apps, not for the underlying Deepseek core functions. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">This said, I would not trust any apps from Chinese-based companies at this time. That is, if the apps are by companies or developers who are actually based inside Mainland China. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">There will be small LLMs and Deepseek derivatives which will have nothing to do with China. So avoiding the ones which are CCP controlled will be relatively easy. Just read the Terms of Service (or use a site or an app to do it for you -- more AI!! <img title="Emoji" alt="Emoji" class="yahoo-emoji-wrapper" height="16" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/yemoji_assets/latest/yemoji_assets/1f632.png" width="16" style="padding: 0px 2px; vertical-align: middle;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"> -- ) before downloading any phone apps. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">-- Bob Primak </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div><br></div>
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On Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 03:48:20 PM EST, Ken Pogran via LCTG <lctg@lists.toku.us> wrote:
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Are DeepSeek's mobile apps actually Chinese spyware?<br>
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Several recent articles suggest DeepSeek mobile apps are coded to
exfiltrate detailed private user and device information to ByteDance
and/or China Mobile servers. And, DeepSeek's Terms of Service explicitly
state that "information we collect" will be sent to servers located in
the PRC.<br>
<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/video/deepseeks-advanced-tracking-technology-never-222053515.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><br>
</a>
<div style="margin-left:40px;"><a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/video/deepseeks-advanced-tracking-technology-never-222053515.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DeepSeek's
advanced tracking technology 'never seen before'</a><br>
<br>
<a href="https://michael.bacarella.com/2025/02/07/static-analysis-of-the-deepseek-android-app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Static
analysis of the DeepSeek Android App</a><br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.nowsecure.com/blog/2025/02/06/nowsecure-uncovers-multiple-security-and-privacy-flaws-in-deepseek-ios-mobile-app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NowSecure
Uncovers Multiple Security and Privacy Flaws in DeepSeek iOS Mobile App</a><br>
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Ken Pogran<br>
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