Deepseek has reportedly disappeared from Italy’s Apple App Store and Google Play store, where the disappearance starts on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
The block came a day after the country’s data Watchdog, Guarantee, filed a privacy complaint asking for clarification on how the chatgpt rival handles users’ personal data.
Italian iPhone and Android users have confirmed to Techradar that the new AI -Chatbot is not available in the APP stores for download (see photo below).
The Deepseek Web site remains available across the country for now. The Italians can also still use their Deepseek app if they had already downloaded it before the block came into force.
At the time of writing, no official explanations have been shared about Italy’s Deepsek block.
“I don’t know if it’s tied to us or not, we asked for some information. The company now has 20 days to respond,” Pasquale Stanzione, head of Italy’s data watchdog, told the Italian News Agency Ansa.
What is certain is that Italy is not the only European country going after the new Chinese AI Chatbot over the concerns of privacy. Belgium and Ireland also filed similar complaints for fear that Deepseek’s privacy policy may be contrary to GDPR rules.
Can a VPN help bypassing Deepseek block?
Despite the best VPN services known to help users bypass online limits, Italians may require some additional solutions. Like the US Tiktok ban, a VPN is not a one-click solution for Deepseek Affairs.
This is mainly due to the use of a VPN not forged your App Store location. This means you will need to “find another way to download the app other than the Apple app or the Google Play stores,” explains Eamonn Maguire, Account Security Manager at Proton -the provider behind Proton VPN.
Do you know?
A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts your Internet connections to prevent third-party snooping while falling your real IP address location. The latter skills are what you need to bypass online geo-limitations.
Certainly not impossible, but experts nevertheless suggest doing this with caution.
“This week’s news about questions about data protection and leaked databases relate to. When combined with the company’s potential relations with the Chinese government, this is even more worrying,” Maguire told Techradar.
While Deepseek’s privacy policy may be very similar to those from Openai-Developed Chatgpt, the Euroconsumers found coalition of five national consumer protection organizations that include Italy and Belgium-more violations of European and national data protection provisions. “
According to the provider’s own wording, users’ personal information is also stored “on secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China” and will be used to “comply with our legal obligations or as needed to perform tasks in the public interest, or to protect our users and Other people’s vital interests.
All in all, Maguire said, “We recommend that users act with caution when using AI tools that are linked to China, especially when sharing sensitive business or personal information.”
