The short version: We collect only what we need to run vehicle searches, deliver the reports you buy and support you. Our reports are about vehicles, not people. We do not sell your personal information, we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we honor Global Privacy Control signals. You can ask us to access, correct or delete your data at any time by emailing privacy@cleancarshistory.us or using our privacy request form.
1. Scope of this policy
This Privacy Policy explains how CleanCarHistory ("CleanCarHistory," "we," "us" or "our") handles personal information when you visit https://cleancarshistory.us, run a free VIN check, look up a license plate, buy a vehicle history report, subscribe to our emails or contact our support team (together, the "Service").
This policy does not cover the personal information of vehicle owners that may appear in government motor vehicle records. We do not include owner names, addresses or other personal details in our reports. Our handling of motor vehicle record data is described in our DPPA Compliance statement.
By using the Service, you acknowledge the practices described here. Your use of the Service is also governed by our Terms of Service.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Contact and account details: your email address and, if you provide it, your name and a password or sign-in link used to access purchased reports.
- Vehicle searches: the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) you enter and, for plate lookups, the license plate number and state you submit.
- Order details: the products you buy, order numbers, amounts, dates, credits remaining and refund history.
- Payment information: card or wallet details are entered directly with our payment processors (for example Stripe and PayPal). We never receive or store full card numbers. We receive only limited details such as the card brand, the last four digits, the billing ZIP code or country and whether the payment succeeded.
- Communications: messages you send to support, privacy requests, survey answers and any attachments you choose to share.
- Newsletter sign-ups: the email address you provide to receive our emails.
Information collected automatically
- Device and log data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring page, pages viewed, the date and time of requests and error logs. These are generated when your browser connects to our servers and our content delivery network.
- Approximate location: a general location (such as country, state or city) inferred from your IP address. We do not collect precise geolocation.
- Cookies and local storage: small files and browser storage entries used for security, to remember your preferences and, only with your consent, for analytics. See our Cookie Policy for the full list.
Information from other sources
- Payment processors send us transaction status, fraud-screening results and dispute or chargeback notices.
- Vehicle data providers return vehicle-level records in response to the VINs and plates you search. These records describe the vehicle and are not tied to you.
3. How we use information
We use personal information to:
- decode VINs, identify vehicles from license plates and return free check results and paid reports;
- process payments, issue receipts, track report credits and give you access to your reports for 12 months;
- respond to questions, troubleshoot problems and handle refund requests;
- send transactional messages such as order confirmations, report links and important notices about the Service;
- send newsletters and offers if you have subscribed, which you can stop at any time;
- protect the Service against fraud, abuse, scraping and security threats, and enforce our Terms of Service;
- understand how the site is used and improve it, using aggregated analytics only where you have consented;
- comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting and record-keeping requirements, and respond to lawful requests.
We do not use your information to make decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects, and we do not build profiles of individuals for advertising.
4. Notice at collection
The table below summarizes the categories of personal information we collect, why we collect them and how long we generally keep them. We do not sell any of these categories and do not share them for cross-context behavioral advertising.
| Category | Examples | Purposes | Typical retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Email address, name, IP address, order number | Delivering reports, account access, support, security | While your account or reports are active, plus up to 3 years |
| Commercial information | Products bought, order history, credits, refunds | Fulfilling orders, refunds, accounting | Up to 7 years for tax and accounting records |
| Vehicle search data | VINs and license plates you search | Running searches, delivering reports, preventing abuse | Up to 12 months after the search or report expiry |
| Limited payment details | Card brand, last four digits, payment status | Payment processing, fraud prevention, disputes | Up to 7 years for financial records |
| Internet or network activity | Pages viewed, browser, device and log data | Security, troubleshooting, consented analytics | Generally up to 90 days for raw logs |
| Approximate location | Country, state or city derived from IP | Fraud prevention, tax calculation, security | Same as log data |
| Communications | Support emails, privacy requests | Customer support, legal compliance | Up to 3 years; privacy request records for 24 months |
| Account login credentials | Email and password or sign-in link | Securing access to your reports | Until you close your account |
Account login credentials may be considered sensitive personal information under some state laws. We use them only to authenticate you and keep your account secure, and never to infer characteristics about you.
5. How we share information
We disclose personal information only in the following situations:
Service providers
We work with vendors who process information on our behalf under contracts that limit their use of it to providing services to us. They include:
- Hosting and content delivery (such as Cloudflare), which serve the website and protect it from attacks;
- Payment processors (such as Stripe and PayPal), which handle card and wallet payments, fraud screening and refunds;
- Email delivery providers, which send order confirmations, report links and newsletters;
- Vehicle data providers, which receive the VIN or plate you search so they can return the records needed to fulfill your report;
- Customer support tools, which help us manage and answer your messages;
- Analytics providers, only where you have consented, which give us aggregated usage statistics.
Legal and safety disclosures
We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is required by law, subpoena, court order or other legal process; to protect the rights, property or safety of CleanCarHistory, our users or the public; to detect and prevent fraud or security incidents; or to enforce our agreements.
Business transfers
If CleanCarHistory is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will require the recipient to honor this policy or notify you of any material change.
With your direction
We share information with other parties when you direct us to or give your consent. If you choose to share a report link yourself, anyone with that link may be able to view the report.
6. Cookies and similar technologies
We use strictly necessary cookies for security, browser local storage to remember your cookie choice and recently searched VINs on your own device, and analytics only after you accept them. Payment processors may set fraud-prevention cookies at checkout. When your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat it as a request to opt out of any sale or sharing and as a decision to decline optional analytics. Details are in our Cookie Policy.
7. Data retention
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy. The periods in the notice at collection table are typical maximums. Purchased reports remain accessible for 12 months, and unused credits in report packs are valid for 12 months from purchase. Records we must keep for tax, accounting, fraud prevention or legal reasons may be retained longer where the law requires. When information is no longer needed, we delete it or de-identify it so it can no longer reasonably be linked to you.
8. Security
We use administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encrypted HTTPS connections, access controls that limit data to staff who need it, and payment processing by providers that maintain PCI DSS compliance. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a security incident that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by law. Please keep your account credentials confidential and contact us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access.
9. Your US state privacy rights
Residents of California (under the CCPA as amended by the CPRA), Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana and other states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws have rights over their personal information. Depending on where you live, these may include the right to:
- Access / know: confirm whether we process your personal information and receive the categories and specific pieces we hold, the sources, the purposes and the types of recipients;
- Delete: ask us to delete personal information we collected from or about you;
- Correct: ask us to fix inaccurate personal information;
- Portability: receive a copy of your information in a portable, commonly used format;
- Opt out: opt out of the sale of personal information, sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising, targeted advertising and profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. We do not do any of these, but you may still submit an opt-out request and we will record it;
- Limit use of sensitive personal information: we use sensitive information only for purposes the law permits, so this right does not require any change in how we process it;
- Non-discrimination: we will not deny you service, charge you a different price or provide a lower quality of service because you exercised your privacy rights.
How to submit a request
Email privacy@cleancarshistory.us or use the form on our Your Privacy Choices page. We will confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond within 45 days. If we need more time, we may extend this by up to another 45 days where the law allows and will tell you why.
Verification
To protect your information, we verify requests by matching details you provide, such as the email address used at checkout and a recent order number, against our records. We will not ask for more information than reasonably necessary, and we use what you provide only to verify and complete the request.
Authorized agents
You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf. We may ask the agent for signed written permission from you, or a valid power of attorney, and we may ask you to confirm your identity directly with us.
Appeals
If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our decision or emailing privacy@cleancarshistory.us with the subject line "Privacy Request Appeal." We will respond in writing within the time required by your state's law, generally 45 to 60 days. If your appeal is denied, you may contact your state attorney general.
Additional California disclosures
In the past 12 months we have collected the categories listed in the notice at collection and disclosed them for business purposes only to the service providers described above. We have not sold or shared personal information, and we have no actual knowledge of selling or sharing the personal information of consumers under 16. California's "Shine the Light" law lets residents ask about disclosures to third parties for their own direct marketing; we do not make such disclosures.
10. Marketing emails
We send newsletters and promotional emails only to people who have subscribed or who have bought from us, as permitted by law. Each marketing email includes an unsubscribe link and our mailing address, as required by the CAN-SPAM Act, and we process unsubscribe requests within 10 business days. You can also unsubscribe by emailing support@cleancarshistory.us. Unsubscribing does not stop transactional messages such as receipts and report links.
11. Children's privacy
The Service is intended for adults 18 and older. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, contact privacy@cleancarshistory.us and we will delete it.
12. International visitors
The Service is designed for users in the United States. If you access it from elsewhere, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. By using the Service, you understand that your information will be handled as described in this policy.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our Service or the law changes. We will post the revised version on this page and update the "Last updated" date. If we make material changes, we will provide additional notice, such as a banner on the site or an email to customers, before the changes take effect.
14. Contact us
For privacy questions or requests, contact us at:
- Email: privacy@cleancarshistory.us
- General support: support@cleancarshistory.us (7 days a week, 8am–10pm ET)
- Mail: CleanCarHistory, [Registered business address]
You can also reach us through our contact page.