Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 1, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Car Intel ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares information when you use our website (thecarintel.com), the Car Intel iOS app, and any connected web experience (collectively, the "Service").

If you have questions about this policy, email us at contact@thecarintel.com.

1. Information we collect

1a. Information you give us directly

• Waitlist email. When you sign up for the pre-launch waitlist on our website, we collect the email address you submit and a flag indicating whether you joined as a buyer or as a dealer.
• Confirmation event. We record when you click the double opt-in confirmation link in the email we send you, so we have a record of consent.
• Account information. When you create a Car Intel account in the iOS app, we collect your email address and a password (if you use email sign-in), or the identifiers returned by Apple or Google if you use Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google. We also store the persona you select during onboarding (for example, "buyer" or "owner") and product preferences you set.
• Vehicle inputs. When you use the app, we collect the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) you scan or type, along with optional fields you provide such as mileage, asking price, listing URL, and notes.
• Feedback. If you submit feedback through the in-app feedback board or by email, we retain the message, the time you submitted it, and the email address you used. Feedback you post to the public feedback board is displayed alongside a hashed handle (not your email).
• Direct correspondence. If you email us, we retain the email for support and record-keeping.

1b. Information collected automatically

• Bot protection. Waitlist submissions are protected by Cloudflare Turnstile. Turnstile receives a small amount of technical signal (such as IP address and browser environment data) to determine whether the request is human; we do not store this data ourselves.
• Product analytics. The iOS app uses PostHog to record in-app events such as screen opens, scan attempts, and feature interactions. PostHog receives your Car Intel user ID and email when you are signed in, along with high-level account counters (number of vehicles in your garage, number of scans performed, watchlist flags). PostHog data is hosted in the United States.
• Crash and performance monitoring. The iOS app uses Sentry to capture crashes, errors, and limited performance traces. Crash reports include device model, OS version, app version, a stack trace, and a screenshot of the screen at the time of the crash. When you are signed in, crash reports are associated with your Car Intel user ID and email so we can follow up.
• Server logs. Our hosting and backend providers (Cloudflare for the website and email routing; Convex for the iOS backend) log IP addresses and request headers for security and abuse prevention. These logs are retained on each provider's default rolling window.

1c. Information collected by the iOS app

• Camera. The app uses your device camera to scan VIN barcodes and labels. Camera frames are processed on-device in real time and are not uploaded or stored by us. We request camera permission the first time you start a scan.
• Photos. If you choose to attach photos to a vehicle in your garage, the photo image files are stored locally on your device and are not uploaded to our servers. (The photo's filename and capture date sync with the rest of your garage — see below — but the image file itself does not leave your device.)
• Garage data (synced to your account). Your garage is stored on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework and, when you are signed in, syncs to our backend so that it survives reinstalling the app and can be restored on a new device or a future web experience. Synced garage data includes your saved and watchlisted vehicles and their report fields, the notes you write, your watchlist organization, your expenses (amount, category, date, and any note), and your recorded purchase and sale prices, regions, and dates. See Section 1d for how this is stored on our backend. The only garage content that stays solely on your device is the photo image files (above).
• VIN lookups. When you run a report, the VIN, mileage, asking price, and similar lookup inputs are sent to our backend (see Section 1d) so we can generate the report. We may cache the resulting report and the underlying source-API responses to speed up repeat lookups.

1d. Information collected by our backend

When you use the iOS app while signed in, the following information is processed on our servers:

• Account profile. Your email, authentication provider identifier (from Clerk, Apple, or Google), persona, and onboarding preferences.
• Report inputs and outputs. VINs you scan, vehicle make/model/year/trim derived from the VIN, your reported mileage and asking price, and the generated reports we return to you.
• Synced garage data. The contents of your garage, synced from your device and keyed to your account: your saved and watchlisted vehicles and their report fields, your watchlist categories, your notes, your expenses (amount, category, date, and any note), your recorded purchase and sale prices, regions, and dates, and the filenames (but not the image files) of any vehicle photos. We store this so your garage survives reinstalling the app and can be restored on another device.
• Scan and sale event history. We record an append-only event each time you scan or enter a VIN — including the decoded make, model, year, and trim, the mileage and scan method, and the persona you selected — and each time you mark a vehicle as sold or undo a sale — including the sale price, purchase price, and regions, along with the vehicle attributes. These events are associated with your account and are kept as a historical record. We use them to understand product demand and pricing trends in aggregate (for example, which vehicles are most scanned and at what prices they sell) and to improve the Service. They are not used for advertising. Because the log is append-only, an individual event is retained even if you later delete the underlying vehicle from your garage.
• AI usage ledger. Each AI-assisted report generation is logged on our servers against your account, including timestamp, vehicle make/model/year, cost in cents, status, and response time. We use this to enforce per-account limits and detect abuse.
• Cached source data. To control cost and latency, we cache responses from upstream data sources (recall data, complaints, safety ratings, market pricing, AI-generated summaries) keyed by VIN or by make/model/year. These caches are not user-scoped and may be reused across users.
• Feedback records. Feedback items and votes you submit, with your user ID and email attached server-side; public board views display a hashed handle only.

2. How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• Send you a confirmation email (waitlist) and product communications you have opted in to.
• Authenticate you and maintain your Car Intel account.
• Generate vehicle reports, including risk scoring, recall and safety summaries, fair-price ranges, and verdicts.
• Enforce per-account usage limits and prevent abuse of AI-assisted features.
• Provide customer support if you write to us or submit feedback in the app.
• Measure aggregate product usage and improve the Service.
• Sync your garage to your account so it survives reinstalls and can be restored on another device or a future web experience.
• Understand product demand and pricing trends in aggregate — such as which vehicles are most frequently scanned and the prices at which they sell — to inform and improve the Service.
• Detect, investigate, and prevent security incidents, fraud, and abuse.
• Comply with legal obligations.

We do not use your information to build advertising profiles or serve targeted ads, and we do not use the App Tracking Transparency framework to track you across other companies' apps and websites.

3. AI and large language model processing

To generate certain report sections (for example, common-issue summaries and market commentary), we send the relevant vehicle make, model, year, and trim — but not your VIN itself — to Perplexity AI for processing. Perplexity processes the request to generate text we then incorporate into your report.

• Your VIN is not included in the prompt body we send to the AI provider.
• Each AI request is logged against your Car Intel account on our backend so we can apply usage limits.
• We do not authorize the AI provider to train its models on your inputs or our prompts.
• If you do not want any AI-processed content, do not run an AI-assisted report. Non-AI sections of the report (raw recalls, safety ratings, market comps) do not involve AI providers.

4. How we share information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share information only in the limited cases below.

4a. Service providers

We rely on the following processors. Each processes information only on our instructions and under a data-processing agreement (or equivalent terms).

We will update this list when we add or remove material processors.

4b. Legal requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Car Intel, our users, or the public.

4c. Business transfers

If Car Intel is acquired, merged, or reorganized, information may transfer to the successor entity. We will notify you of any such change.

5. International data transfers

Our processors are primarily located in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States and other countries where our processors operate. We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent transfer mechanisms with processors that handle data of users in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or other regions that require them.

6. Data retention

• Waitlist emails are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, or until we no longer operate the Service.
• Account data (profile, synced garage, vehicle lookups, AI usage ledger, feedback) is retained while your account is active and is removed when you delete your account (see Section 7a).
• Scan and sale events are append-only and are retained as a historical analytics record. Because the log is append-only, an individual event is not removed when you later delete the underlying vehicle from your garage. For what happens on account deletion, see Section 7a.
• Cached source data (recall, safety, market, AI summaries) is retained on a rolling cache window so we can serve repeat lookups without re-querying upstream providers. Cache entries are not tied to your account.
• Crash and analytics events are retained per the default retention of Sentry and PostHog, which is currently up to 90 days for crash data and longer for aggregated analytics. We do not retain raw screenshots from crash reports beyond what is needed for triage.
• Server logs are retained on each infrastructure provider's default rolling window (typically 7–30 days).

If you delete your account or request deletion, we will remove or anonymize associated account data within 30 days, subject to backups and legal retention requirements. Aggregated, de-identified data may persist for analytics.

7. Your rights and choices

7a. In-app account deletion

You can delete your Car Intel account at any time from within the iOS app: Settings → Account → Delete Account. Deletion removes your profile, your synced garage (saved and watchlisted vehicles, notes, expenses, purchase and sale records, and watchlist categories), your feedback authorship, and your AI usage ledger from our backend. Records of individual scan and sale events (Section 1d) are retained for aggregate analytics, but their account identifiers are stripped on deletion so the records are no longer linked to you — consistent with Section 6. Cached source data keyed by VIN may persist in non-user-scoped caches.

7b. Email-based requests

You may also email contact@thecarintel.com from the address associated with your account to request access, correction, deletion, or a portable export of your information. We will respond within 30 days.

7c. Regional rights

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, or similar:

• Access — request a copy of the information we hold about you.
• Deletion — request that we delete your information.
• Correction — request that we correct inaccurate information.
• Portability — request a machine-readable export of your information.
• Objection / restriction — object to or restrict certain processing.
• Withdraw consent — withdraw consent for processing where we rely on it.
• Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

We do not sell personal information and do not engage in "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under California law.

8. Apple-specific disclosures

• Sign in with Apple. If you sign in with Apple, Apple may relay your email through a private relay address. We treat that relay address the same as any other email we receive.
• App Tracking Transparency. We do not track you across other companies' apps and websites and do not present the ATT prompt.
• Apple Privacy Manifest. Our iOS app ships an PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy manifest declaring the categories of data we collect and the SDKs we link.
• In-app account deletion. As required by Apple, account deletion is available directly from within the iOS app (see Section 7a).

9. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including encrypted transport (HTTPS/TLS), signed and time-limited confirmation tokens, encryption at rest where supported by our infrastructure providers, and restricted service-provider access. Account credentials are managed by Clerk and are not stored in plaintext by us. No system is perfectly secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children

Car Intel is not directed to children under 13 and is intended for users aged 13 and older (or the age of digital consent in your jurisdiction, if higher). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. We do not currently verify age; by using the Service you confirm that you meet the minimum age requirement. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify waitlist subscribers and account holders by email and update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Service after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact

Questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy can be sent to:

Car Intel Email: contact@thecarintel.com