Privacy policy
Draft for legal review · Last updated October 7, 2026
This draft must be reviewed by a lawyer before public release. Bracketed items such as [Company name] are placeholders.
SmartChecker is made by [Company name] ("we"). This policy explains what the SmartChecker website and app collect, why, and the choices you have. Short version: your vehicle data stays on your PC, we don't sell personal information, and the website uses one sign-in cookie and no trackers.
What stays on your PC
The SmartChecker app keeps vehicle data, scan history, live-data recordings, reports, customer records, the Fix Log, Head Tech conversations and settings on your computer. We don't receive them, except in the opt-in cases below. Head Tech's AI runs locally through Ollama.
What the website and app send to us
| When | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You create an account | Email address, display name, a salted hash of your password (never the password itself), sign-in times | To run your account and send account emails |
| You activate a license | License key, the PC's name, app version, and three salted one-way hashes of hardware IDs (they can't be turned back into serial numbers), activation and check-in times, transfer history | To lock the license to your PC and enforce the transfer rules |
| You join the waitlist | Email address | To tell you when SmartChecker is available |
| You use the contact form | Name, email, topic, message, IP address | To answer you and to stop spam |
| You choose to send crash reports | Error type, a scrubbed stack trace, app and Windows versions, adapter type. VINs, names, emails, file paths and vehicle data are removed on your PC first. | To fix bugs |
| You use the Community Hub | Packs you upload, ratings and comments. Your display name is shown publicly with them. | To share test packs |
| Your shop turns on Pro Shop sync | Customers (names, phones, emails), vehicles, repair orders, invoices, Fix Log entries and shop details | To share them between your shop's PCs. We process this for your shop and don't use it for anything else. |
| Any request | IP address, kept in short-term logs and in the audit log for account and admin actions | Security and abuse prevention |
Services the app talks to directly
- NHTSA (U.S. government): when you decode a VIN or check recalls and complaints, the VIN or year, make and model is sent to NHTSA's public services.
- Anthropic: only if you turn on the optional cloud AI with your own API key. Your questions, the vehicle data Head Tech reads and photos you attach then go to Anthropic under your own account.
- SmartChecker update server: the app checks our website for new versions.
- GitHub (OBDb): when you download manufacturer data in Live Data, the vehicle make and model are part of the request to the public OBDb repository.
- Hugging Face: the first time you use voice input, the app downloads the offline speech model. Your voice is processed on your PC and never sent.
Cookies
The website sets one cookie, sc_auth, to keep you signed in. It's required for the account pages to work. There are no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies.
Who else handles data
- Email delivery: [email provider, currently Google Gmail].
- Hosting: [hosting provider].
- We don't sell or rent personal information, and we don't share it for advertising.
- We may disclose information if the law requires it.
How long we keep it
- Accounts: until you delete them.
- License and activation records: as long as the license exists. They're needed to honor it.
- Waitlist emails: until launch, or until you ask us to remove them.
- Contact messages: [12] months.
- Crash reports: until the bug is fixed, then [6] months.
- Logs: [90] days.
Your choices and rights
- Delete your account yourself in your account. Your name and email are removed; licenses keep working on PCs where they're activated.
- Ask for a copy of your data, a correction, or deletion of anything else (for example waitlist or contact messages) through the contact form. We answer within [30] days.
- Crash reports are off unless you turn them on in Settings → Data.
- Depending on where you live (for example California or the EU), you may have additional rights. We honor them for everyone. [Lawyer: add jurisdiction-specific wording as needed.]
Security
The website uses HTTPS. Passwords and app activation tokens are stored only as hashes. License files are cryptographically signed. On your PC, saved API keys and activation tokens are encrypted for your Windows account.
Children
SmartChecker is a professional tool and isn't directed to children under 16. We don't knowingly collect their information.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date above. For significant changes we'll also email account holders.
Contact
[Company name], [postal address]. Use the contact form and choose "Privacy request".