Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Parts Scanner (partsscanner.com) is operated by Part Scanner LTD, a company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 17192427), with its registered office at 5 Brayford Square, London, E1 0SG, United Kingdom. We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy.

We run a price comparison service that helps US drivers find and compare prices on auto parts from third-party retailers. We do not sell parts ourselves: when you buy, you buy from the retailer.

For any privacy question or request, email privacy@partsscanner.com.

2. What data we collect

You don't need an account to use Parts Scanner, and we never collect payment details. We collect:

• Vehicle information – The VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), or the year, make, model and engine, that you enter to find parts that fit. A VIN is sent to NHTSA, the US government's vehicle safety agency, which decodes it into the vehicle's year, make and model. We then look up matching vehicles with our fitment data partner, Parts Square, sending the decoded details and your IP address; the VIN itself is not sent to Parts Square. We do not store VINs in our database, but a VIN and your IP address appear in our server logs (see section 9).
• Usage and analytics data – Pages you visit, searches, clicks and other interactions, browser and device type, screen size, the page that referred you, and your approximate location (country, region and city) estimated from your IP address. This is collected through PostHog, which also records some sessions (see section 6).
• Clicks to stores and promo codes – When you click through to a store or reveal a promo code, we record which offer or code it was, the time, and the page you were on. We use this to work out the commission we're owed and which deals are useful. These records do not include your IP address, name or any other identifier.
• Technical data – Your IP address, browser user-agent and the address of each request, which our servers log automatically for security and to fix problems.
• Messages you send us – If you email us, we receive your email address and anything you include in your message, such as a VIN or a product link.

3. How we use your data, and our legal basis

UK data protection law requires us to have a legal basis for each use of personal data. Ours are:

• Providing the service – identifying your vehicle, showing compatible parts and prices, and sending you to the store you choose. Basis: our legitimate interest in running the service you asked to use.
• Analytics and improving the site – understanding which features are used, finding problems and deciding what to build next. Basis: our legitimate interest in improving the service. You can switch analytics off at any time (section 6).
• Affiliate commission – recording clicks to stores so retailers and their affiliate network can credit us. Basis: our legitimate interest in funding a free service.
• Security and abuse prevention – keeping server logs, limiting excessive use and protecting against attacks. Basis: our legitimate interest in keeping the service safe.
• Answering your messages – replying to your questions and requests. Basis: our legitimate interest in responding to you, or a legal obligation where you exercise your data protection rights.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted (cross-context behavioral) advertising.

4. Who we share data with

We only share personal data with the services we need to run Parts Scanner:

We may also disclose data where the law requires it, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

7. Affiliate links and commission

Parts Scanner earns a commission from some retailers when you click through from our site and then buy. Store links pass through a short Parts Scanner redirect page, which records the click (section 2), and then usually through our affiliate network, Commission Junction (CJ), before reaching the store.

CJ and the retailer may set cookies on their own websitesto recognise that the visit came from us, so that we can be credited if you buy. We don't control those cookies. Please see CJ's and each retailer's privacy policy for details.

Commission never changes the price you pay, and it does not affect the order in which we show prices.

8. Third-party websites

When you click through to buy, you leave Parts Scanner for the retailer's website, which has its own privacy policy. Anything you give the retailer, such as your name, address or payment details, goes to them, not to us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites.

9. How long we keep data

• Analytics data and session recordings (PostHog): up to 12 months, then deleted automatically.
• Server logs, which include IP addresses and any VIN looked up: kept by our hosting provider for up to 30 days.
• Click and promo code records: these contain no identifiers. We keep them while we need them to reconcile commission with retailers and for reporting.
• Emails: as long as we need them to deal with your message and any follow-up.
• Garage and My List: on your device until you clear them.

10. International transfers

We are a UK company. Our servers and database are hosted in the United States (California), PostHog stores analytics data in the European Union, and Parts Square and NHTSA are in the United States. Where personal data leaves the UK, we rely on the safeguards UK law provides, such as the UK–US data bridge or the UK's approved contract clauses with the provider.

11. Your rights

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), and under US state privacy laws such as California's (the CCPA as amended by the CPRA), you have the right to:

• know what personal data we hold about you and get a copy of it
• have it corrected or deleted
• object to or restrict how we use it, including our use of it for analytics
• receive it in a portable format
• opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information (we don't sell or share it)
• not be treated differently for exercising any of these rights

To make a request, email privacy@partsscanner.com. We'll reply within one month, or within the time your state's law allows. We may need to ask you for information to confirm a request is genuine. Because we don't hold names or accounts, it helps to tell us which data you mean, such as a VIN you looked up and roughly when.

If you are in the UK and unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.

12. Security

All traffic to Parts Scanner is encrypted (HTTPS), access to our systems is restricted to the people who need it, and we keep the personal data we hold to a minimum. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your data.

13. Children's privacy

Parts Scanner is not directed at anyone under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has given us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll post changes on this page and update the "Last updated" date at the top.

15. Contact

Questions about this policy or our data practices? Email privacy@partsscanner.com, or write to Part Scanner LTD, 5 Brayford Square, London, E1 0SG, United Kingdom.