This path is for you if DeepSeek is both a free chat app and a set of weights you can download, and those are different things. The live part separates the product from the files. Start with that part. Do not treat a download as the same thing as the chat site.
- 1 What is DeepSeek? The Chinese AI company and its chatbot explained DeepSeek chat, API, and open weights are three doors from one lab. Use the site for a short FAQ. Read the Files-tab size before you clone. Open weights are files, not a chat box.
- 2 What you get with DeepSeek’s free chat app and its paid plans Use official chat.deepseek.com (Instant and Expert) before you buy a random Plus extension. Chat can be free; the API is the metered wallet. Confirm the publisher on mobile stores.
- 3 DeepSeek thinking mode: why its step-by-step reasoning is not proof Treat DeepSeek reasoning_content as a scratch pad. Instant vs Expert vs thinking toggles change style, not audit rights. Verify margins in the sheet before Slack.
- 4 How to use DeepSeek for coding without trusting untested changes Use DeepSeek for coding drafts, then run the tenant-scoped pytest that would catch a missing filter. Paste a function, not the secrets file.
- 5 Is DeepSeek private? Its website vs running its open models yourself Name the DeepSeek door: free chat, API meter, files, or local runner. Open weights are not privacy if you paste into hosted chat. Write a door card before the next roster paste.
- 6 Is DeepSeek safe for work? Privacy and where your data goes Know where DeepSeek prompts go, read the privacy policy dated for your week, and keep regulated rosters off personal phone pastes. Work vs personal vs regulated is a written rule.
- 7 When not to use DeepSeek: jobs where it is the wrong tool Skip DeepSeek when the page is already public, when the real need is a form, or when policy forbids the region. Use it when a cheap API or open weights honestly fit the job.