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Privacy Policy

What data we collect, why, how we protect it, and how you can exercise your rights.

**Effective Date:** [EFFECTIVE DATE] **Last Updated:** [EFFECTIVE DATE]

Vehicle Inspectors ("**VI**," "**we**," "**us**," or "**our**"), a service operated by Ketchup Consulting LLC, a California limited liability company, respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit VehicleInspectors.com, book an inspection, sign up as an inspector, or otherwise interact with our Platform.

By using the Platform, you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

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1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

**When you book an inspection, we collect:**

  • Full name, email address, phone number, and mailing/billing address
  • Vehicle details: year, make, model, VIN, mileage, listing URL
  • Vehicle location: street address, city, state, ZIP code
  • Seller contact information you provide to enable Inspection scheduling
  • Optional photos of the vehicle listing or seller correspondence
  • Preferred date/time and any special notes or instructions
  • Payment information (processed by Square, Inc.; we do not store full card numbers)

**When you sign up as an Inspector, we collect:**

  • Full legal name, business name, email, phone
  • Service address and coverage area
  • Business license information, tax ID (EIN or SSN for 1099 reporting)
  • ASE or equivalent certifications
  • Proof of insurance (certificate of insurance)
  • Resume / professional background
  • Years of experience, specialties, hourly rate preferences
  • Bank account or payout destination (for compensation)
  • Government-issued ID (if required for background verification)

**When you contact us:**

  • Communication content (email, SMS, phone call records to the extent permitted)
  • Support request details

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Platform, we automatically collect:

  • IP address, approximate geolocation (derived from IP)
  • Device type, browser type, operating system
  • Referring URL, pages visited, time on page, click-stream behavior
  • Cookie and similar technology identifiers
  • Session identifiers and authentication tokens

1.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from:

  • Payment processors (Square, Inc.) — transaction confirmations
  • Communication providers (Twilio, Inc.) — message delivery status
  • Geocoding services (OpenStreetMap/Nominatim, OpenCage, or similar) — address-to-coordinate lookups
  • Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics, Vercel Analytics)
  • Background verification vendors (for Inspectors only)

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2. How We Use Information

We use collected information to:

  • Process and fulfill Bookings, including matching you with Inspectors
  • Send Booking confirmations, scheduling updates, and Inspection Report delivery
  • Process payments through Square and, for Inspectors, issue payouts
  • Communicate with you by email, SMS, and phone as permitted by law and your consent
  • Provide customer support
  • Improve the Platform, troubleshoot errors, and develop new features
  • Detect, prevent, and investigate fraud, abuse, or unauthorized access
  • Comply with legal obligations, including tax reporting (e.g., 1099 issuance to Inspectors), court orders, and subpoenas
  • Enforce our Terms of Service and protect our rights
  • For Inspectors: evaluate applications, verify qualifications, manage the Inspector network, conduct performance reviews, and calculate compensation

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3. How We Share Information

**We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration.** We share information only as described below.

3.1 With Inspectors

When an Inspection is dispatched, we share with the matched Inspector(s):

  • Your name and contact information (phone, email)
  • Vehicle details and location
  • Seller contact information
  • Any special notes relevant to the Inspection

**The full address is only disclosed to the Inspector who claims the job**, not to the broader dispatch pool.

3.2 With Customers (when you are an Inspector)

Once you claim a Booking, we share with the Customer:

  • Your name, company name, phone, and email
  • Your professional certifications (summary only)
  • Your average rating, if any

3.3 With Service Providers

We share information with third parties who perform services on our behalf, including:

  • **Square, Inc.** — payment processing
  • **Twilio, Inc.** — SMS delivery
  • **Resend, Inc.** or **SendGrid, Inc.** — email delivery
  • **Supabase / Vercel** — hosting and infrastructure
  • **Google / OpenStreetMap** — geocoding and mapping
  • **Hunter.io / Apollo / ZoomInfo** — business email lookup (for Inspector sourcing only; not for Customer data)
  • Analytics vendors (Google Analytics, Vercel Analytics, or similar)
  • Background verification vendors (if used for Inspector vetting)
  • Legal, accounting, and tax advisors

These service providers are bound by contractual obligations to use the information only for the purposes for which we engage them and to maintain appropriate security.

3.4 Legal Disclosures

We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:

  • Comply with a subpoena, court order, or other legal obligation
  • Enforce our Terms of Service
  • Protect the safety, rights, or property of VI, our users, or the public
  • Detect, prevent, or investigate fraud, security, or technical issues

3.5 Business Transfers

If VI or Ketchup Consulting is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or similar transaction, information may be transferred as part of the transaction, subject to continued protection under this Privacy Policy or equivalent.

3.6 Aggregated or Anonymized Data

We may share aggregated or anonymized data (which cannot reasonably identify you) for any purpose, including market research, industry reporting, and Platform improvement.

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4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The Site uses cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies for:

  • **Strictly necessary:** authentication, session management, security
  • **Functional:** remembering preferences
  • **Analytics:** understanding Platform usage (Google Analytics, Vercel Analytics)
  • **Advertising:** none currently; we will update this Policy if we begin using advertising cookies

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may prevent core Platform functions from working.

4.1 Do Not Track

We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals, as no common industry standard has been adopted.

4.2 Global Privacy Control (GPC)

We honor the Global Privacy Control signal as an opt-out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for California residents under CPRA. See Section 7.

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5. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, to comply with our legal obligations, and to enforce our agreements. Specific retention schedules:

| Data | Retention Period | |---|---| | Booking and Inspection Reports | 7 years (tax / audit / warranty claim defense) | | Customer account records | Life of account + 3 years after closure | | Inspector records (1099) | 7 years (IRS requirement) | | Payment records | 7 years (Square / tax requirement) | | Communication logs (SMS, email metadata) | 2 years | | Website analytics | 26 months (Google Analytics default) | | Cookies | As specified in each cookie's declaration |

When we no longer need information, we delete or de-identify it.

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6. Security

We implement industry-standard administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including:

  • Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+)
  • Encryption at rest for sensitive fields
  • Role-based access control; least-privilege principle
  • Row-level security on databases (Supabase RLS)
  • Multi-factor authentication for administrative access
  • Vendor due diligence and data processing agreements

**However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.** We cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach affecting your information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

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7. Your Privacy Rights

7.1 California Residents — CCPA / CPRA

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

  • **Know** what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell
  • **Delete** personal information we have collected from you
  • **Correct** inaccurate personal information
  • **Opt out of sale or sharing** of personal information (VI does not sell personal information)
  • **Limit use of sensitive personal information** (VI does not use sensitive PI for purposes beyond those for which it was collected)
  • **Non-discrimination** — VI will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights
  • **Authorized agent** — you may designate an authorized agent to exercise your rights

**To exercise these rights**, email `privacy@vehicleinspectors.com` with the subject "CCPA Request." We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling the request.

We will respond within 45 days (extendable to 90 days if necessary).

7.2 Other U.S. States

Residents of states with similar privacy laws (including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, and others) have comparable rights. Submit requests to `privacy@vehicleinspectors.com`.

7.3 Categories of Personal Information We Have Collected (CPRA Disclosure)

In the 12 months preceding the effective date, we have collected the following categories of personal information:

  • **Identifiers:** name, email, phone, IP address
  • **Customer records:** name, address, phone, payment information
  • **Commercial information:** Bookings, Inspections, transaction history
  • **Internet / network activity:** browsing behavior on the Site
  • **Geolocation:** general location derived from IP, specific location if you provide an address
  • **Professional or employment-related information** (Inspectors only)
  • **Inferences** drawn from the above (e.g., service preferences)

We do not knowingly collect:

  • Biometric information
  • Precise geolocation below ZIP-level resolution (except inspection locations you voluntarily provide)
  • Genetic information
  • Children's personal information (we do not market to persons under 18)
  • Information revealing racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, union membership, health, sexual orientation, or immigration status

7.4 European Economic Area / United Kingdom (GDPR)

If you are in the EEA or UK, the lawful bases we rely on for processing your personal data are:

  • **Performance of a contract** (Article 6(1)(b)) — to fulfill your Booking
  • **Legitimate interests** (Article 6(1)(f)) — to improve the Platform, detect fraud
  • **Consent** (Article 6(1)(a)) — for marketing SMS/email, cookies where required
  • **Legal obligation** (Article 6(1)(c)) — tax reporting, legal response

You have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, object, and data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

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8. Children

The Platform is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe we have collected information from a child, contact us at `privacy@vehicleinspectors.com` and we will delete it.

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9. Third-Party Links

The Site may contain links to third-party sites (e.g., Carfax, seller listings, manufacturer warranty pages). This Privacy Policy does not apply to those sites. Review their privacy policies before providing information.

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10. SMS and Email Privacy

See the Terms of Service, Section 13 for details on our SMS program. Your SMS opt-in information (phone number, timestamp, and consent text) is collected and retained for TCPA compliance defense. It is **never** shared or sold.

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11. International Data Transfers

VI processes data primarily in the United States. If you are located outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S. Where required, we use standard contractual clauses and appropriate safeguards.

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12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be posted on the Site at least 30 days before they take effect. The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

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13. Contact Us

For questions, requests, or complaints about this Policy:

**Vehicle Inspectors** c/o Ketchup Consulting LLC [MAILING ADDRESS] Temecula, California Email: `privacy@vehicleinspectors.com` Phone: (757) 618-2938

**Data Protection Inquiries (EEA/UK):** Email: `privacy@vehicleinspectors.com`