Seek-Chat: DeepSeek Chrome Extension: Official Status & Permissions

Review scope: This is a documentation review, not an installation test or security audit of any extension. We do not endorse a particular store listing. “Unofficial” does not automatically mean malicious, and “official” would not by itself settle privacy or security questions.

Use DeepSeek in Chrome without installing an extension

For ordinary chat, open DeepSeek’s website and follow its web-chat link. To save a shortcut, open that destination and select the star in Chrome’s address bar; see Google’s bookmark instructions. A bookmark opens a website; it is not a page-reading browser extension.

This avoids installing an additional component merely to open chat. It does not make the hosted chat local or confidential: anything you submit remains subject to that service’s terms and data practices. Do not paste private workplace or client material without the necessary permission.

Check the publisher, purpose and data route

• Match the exact listing: compare its publisher and destination with links from DeepSeek itself. Similar branding and high ratings are not proof of affiliation. If the relationship cannot be verified, treat the tool as third-party.
• Match access to the task: opening a chat shortcut and summarizing pages are different functions. Ask why each permission is needed. For a summarizer, establish whether it receives selected text, a full page, or other data; do not infer this from the feature’s name.
• Read the data route: identify the extension operator, any AI provider receiving prompts, retention/deletion terms, and support contact. Chrome Web Store policy requires products handling user data to explain collection, use, sharing and recipients in an accurate, current privacy policy. That requirement is not evidence that a particular extension has been independently audited.
• Stop if essential details are missing: do not submit sensitive material or credentials while the publisher, data destination, or permission purpose is unclear. On a work or school browser, follow your organization’s approved-tool policy.

Compare Chrome site-access settings

In desktop Chrome, open More → Extensions → Manage extensions → Details. Google’s extension-management guide describes these site-access choices:

Site-access setting	What it allows	Practical choice
On select	Access to the current site in the active tab when you select the extension.	Use for occasional tasks.
On specific sites	Automatic access on the sites you choose, within its requested permissions.	Limit it to the sites needed.
On all sites	Automatic access across sites matching its requested permissions.	Allow only if the task genuinely requires that scope.

These settings limit host access, not every extension capability. “On select” refers to invoking the extension, not a guarantee that only highlighted text is read. Google also notes that these site-access changes do not control lower-level network access used by VPN or proxy extensions.

Chrome’s permissions documentation distinguishes website access from additional API permissions. For example, access to cookies can require a separate API permission as well as host access. Review the whole permission request; choosing a narrower site scope is not a complete security audit.

Treat an API key as a credential, not a login shortcut

DeepSeek’s Open Platform terms, section 2.2 say to keep API keys secure and not expose them in browser or other client-side code. An extension asking you to paste a personal key needs more scrutiny than a bookmark. A claim such as “stored locally” does not establish that the key is protected or never transmitted.

Do not enter a key into an unverified extension. If one may already have been exposed, revoke it through the provider, inspect usage for unexpected activity, and create a replacement only if needed. Changing site-access settings or removing the extension is not the same as revoking a credential.

If an installed extension makes you uncomfortable

Open Chrome’s Manage extensions page. Turn the extension off to disable it, or select Remove and confirm to uninstall it. Review its details before enabling it again.

Removal does not establish that information already sent to a service has been deleted. For that, check the operator’s deletion process. If workplace data was involved, follow your organization’s incident-reporting process rather than uploading more material to test the extension.

Frequently asked questions