DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has temporarily halted the downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea as it works with local authorities to address privacy concerns. The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission reported that DeepSeek's apps were removed from both Apple's App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening. The company has agreed to collaborate with the commission to improve privacy measures before the apps can be relaunched.

This suspension does not impact users who have already downloaded the app or those using it on personal computers. However, Nam Seok, the director of the commission's investigation division, has advised South Korean users to delete the app from their devices or refrain from entering personal information until the issues are resolved.

Amid concerns that DeepSeek's AI model was collecting too much sensitive data, several South Korean government agencies and companies have blocked the app from their networks or prohibited employees from using it for work purposes. The commission, which began investigating DeepSeek's services last month, found the company lacked transparency regarding third-party data transfers and may have been collecting excessive personal information.

While the commission has not provided an estimate of the app's user base in South Korea, a recent report by Wiseapp Retail revealed that DeepSeek was used by approximately 1.2 million smartphone users in the country during the last week of January, making it the second-most-popular AI model after ChatGPT.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.