DeepSeek's Terms and Conditions Decoded

The terms are governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China (mainland), which may not be the user's local jurisdiction, potentially limiting their legal protections.
The terms can be revised at any time by DeepSeek, and continued use constitutes acceptance of the modified terms, offering users no right to object to changes.
DeepSeek disclaims all warranties, stating the service is provided "as is" and makes no guarantees regarding accuracy, reliability, security, or uninterrupted service.
DeepSeek's liability is severely limited, excluding liability for incidental, consequential, or indirect losses like loss of profits, unless due to its intentional or negligent conduct.
Users must indemnify DeepSeek against liabilities and costs arising from their breach of terms, violation of laws, or illegal acts, which could be financially burdensome.
Users are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated Outputs and bear all risks from relying on them, even though the service is designed to generate content.
DeepSeek retains broad rights to use de-identified Inputs and Outputs to improve its services unless the user opts out, raising potential data usage concerns.
DeepSeek reserves the right to suspend, terminate, or restrict user accounts and delete content at its discretion if it deems a user violated the terms.
The terms require disputes to be resolved in the court at the location of DeepSeek's registered office in China, which may be inconvenient and costly for international users.
The export control clause places the entire burden of compliance with international sanctions laws on the user, who must ensure neither they nor their end-users are in sanctioned countries or on restricted lists.
The terms state that Specific Terms for particular functions prevail in case of conflict with these general Terms, which could lead to unexpected obligations.
The account is non-transferable, non-giftable, and non-inheritable, which may conflict with digital asset inheritance expectations in some jurisdictions.
DeepSeek states it can provide incomplete, inaccurate, or offending output and disclaims affiliation with third-party products/services mentioned in outputs, distancing itself from potential harms.
While minors require guardian consent, the terms place the responsibility for this verification and compliance on the user, not DeepSeek.
The terms grant DeepSeek the right to review user inputs and outputs using technical means to fulfill legal requirements, which may impact privacy.
Users are prohibited from using the service for a wide range of purposes, including those that may have "serious harmful impacts" or violate "scientific and technological ethics," which are vague and open to interpretation.
The intellectual property clause broadly claims DeepSeek's rights over the service but clarifies user rights to Inputs and Outputs, though the practical enforcement of these user rights is not detailed.
The complaint mechanism requires users to submit issues through DeepSeek's designated channels, with no specified response time or independent arbitration process.