Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

CarmaDeal ("we," "us," or "our") is an independent used-car pricing and deal analysis service. Deal Scores are computed by a deterministic formula; automation (including AI) may assist with extracting listing details and drafting report narrative text, but it does not decide the score. We operate at carmadeal.com. Questions about this policy: support@carmadeal.com.

2. What Data We Collect

Vehicle & Search Data

When you analyze a vehicle listing, we collect:

• Vehicle details you provide (year, make, model, mileage, asking price, trim, location)
• VINs entered for decoding and report generation (stored with analysis records to provide, retrieve, and improve the service)
• Listing URLs or screenshots you upload for analysis
• Photos you upload for damage detection (processed and stored for up to 90 days)

Account Data

If you create an account:

• Email address and hashed password (we never store plaintext passwords)
• Saved deal history associated with your account

Payment Data

CarmaDeal is currently free and does not request or collect payment-card data. If paid features are introduced in the future, the Terms and Refund Policy will be updated before activation. Payments would be processed by Stripe; CarmaDeal would not receive or store your card number, CVV, or full card details.

Usage & Analytics Data

We automatically collect:

• Pages visited and time spent (via our own analytics system)
• IP address and approximate location (city/region level)
• Browser type, device type, operating system
• Referral source (how you found CarmaDeal)

3. How We Use Your Data

• To provide the service: Vehicle analysis, deal scoring, PDF report generation, and saved deal history all require storing your input data.
• To improve the product: Aggregate, anonymized usage data helps us improve accuracy and add features.
• To send transactional emails: Receipt confirmations and account-related notices (not marketing emails unless you opt in).
• To prevent abuse: Rate limiting, fraud detection, and enforcement of reasonable usage limits.

4. Cookies & Tracking

Cookies We Use

• Session cookies: Keep you logged in across pages.
• Analytics cookies: Our own page view tracking, plus PostHog product analytics (see below). You can opt out of product analytics at any time using the banner on our homepage; form inputs are always masked in session replays.

PostHog Analytics & Session Replay

We use PostHog to understand how the product is used: page views, feature usage events, and session replays of anonymous browsing sessions. All form inputs are masked in session replays — the VIN, ZIP code, prices, mileage, and listing URLs you type are never visible in a recording. Analytics events carry only coarse values (a score tier, a comp count), never your VIN or listing URL. See PostHog's Privacy Policy.

Meta Pixel

We use Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel) to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and to track conversions (PageView, Lead, Purchase events). Meta may use this data to show you relevant ads on Facebook and Instagram. You can opt out via Facebook Ad Settings or use a browser ad blocker. See Meta's Data Policy.

5. Third-Party Services

• Stripe — Dormant payment integration; used only if paid features are explicitly introduced in the future. Privacy Policy
• NHTSA vPIC API — VIN decoding (U.S. government service, no personal data sent)
• NHTSA Complaints & Recalls API — Vehicle safety data (U.S. government, no personal data sent)
• OpenAI — AI analysis of vehicle listings. The vehicle's VIN or the listing URL you submit is included in the analysis request. Data sent to OpenAI is subject to OpenAI's Privacy Policy. We do not send your name, email, or other account information to OpenAI.
• PostHog — Product analytics and masked session replay (see section 4). Privacy Policy
• Meta Pixel — Advertising measurement (see section 4)

6. Data Retention

• Vehicle analysis records: Retained indefinitely to support saved deals and our improvement of scoring accuracy. Anonymized after 12 months if not associated with an account.
• Uploaded photos: Retained for 90 days, then deleted automatically.
• Account data: Retained for the life of your account. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion request.
• Payment records: CarmaDeal does not create new payment records while the service is free. Any legitimate historical or future transaction record may be retained for up to 7 years for tax, accounting, dispute, and fraud-prevention requirements; Stripe holds the payment-card data.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Request access to your personal data
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Opt out of marketing communications
• Object to certain processing activities

To exercise any of these rights, email support@carmadeal.com. We respond within 30 days.

8. Data Security

We use industry-standard security practices including HTTPS encryption for all data in transit, bcrypt password hashing, and access controls on our database. We do not store payment card data — Stripe handles all payment security under their PCI DSS compliance.

9. Children's Privacy

CarmaDeal is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at support@carmadeal.com.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll post the updated version with a new "Last updated" date. For significant changes, we'll notify registered users via email.

11. Contact

Privacy questions: support@carmadeal.com