Want to try DeepSeek without the privacy worries? Perplexity AI just launched it on its iOS and web apps

• You can now use DeepSeek R1 inside Perplexity Pro
• The model is available with Perplexity on the web and iOS
• You get uncensored results and US-stored data

It’s been quite the week for DeepSeek, the Chinese-made open-source AI model that’s shot to the top of the app store charts while simultaneously raising privacy concerns. Now the DeepSeek R1 model is available within the Perplexity AI search engine, on US servers and with no censorship.

Announcing the news, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas (via Search Engine Journal) described it as a “phenomenal experience”, while also acknowledging that there are limits on query volume – limits Perplexity is working to increase.

Perplexity is able to add DeepSeek R1 because it’s open-source and freely available to anyone who wants to use it, and the move gets around two key concerns: first that China might censor the results DeepSeek returns, and second that the model would send user data back to the Chinese government.

Srinivas promises that Perplexity has tweaked R1 to keep results uncensored, and that all user interactions are kept secure on US-based servers. The CEO even used the classic test case, a search about Tiananmen Square, to show the AI is uncensored inside Perplexity.

You’ll have to go Pro

To be able to access the DeepSeek R1 model, you’ll need to have signed up for a Perplexity Pro account – that’ll set you back $20 (about £16 / AU$32) a month or $200 (about £160 / AU$320) a year. A subscription also gives you access to other models, like OpenAI o1.

For the time being at least, you’re also going to have to use Perplexity on the web or through the iOS app – the feature hasn’t arrived on Android yet. If you do use Perplexity on Android, you can try out the new Perplexity Assistant feature instead.

The arrival and instant success of DeepSeek has seriously disrupted the AI landscape, with US companies such as Nvidia and OpenAI politely praising their new rival while also scrambling to compete with the new R1 model – which can match the best models from the likes of ChatGPT for free, while using less processing power and less energy.

There’s no doubt lots more to come from DeepSeek, and from its rivals (and partners). You can find plenty of experts weighing in on what’s next, and the best place to keep up to date with the latest developments is at our DeepSeek live blog.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.