Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 31, 2026

Scope and Applicability

This Privacy Policy governs the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of information obtained through RecallCheck.net (the "Site"). The Site is operated from the United States and is intended for users worldwide. By accessing or using the Site, you consent to the practices described in this policy, including the transfer, storage, and processing of your information in the United States.

This policy applies to all visitors, users, and others who access the Site, regardless of how they access it, whether through a desktop browser, mobile device, tablet, API, or any other means. It applies to information collected on the Site, through email or other electronic messages between you and the Site, and through any mobile or desktop application that references or links to this policy. It does not apply to information collected by any third party, including through any application or content that may link to or be accessible from or on the Site.

Information We Collect

Personal Information: We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, such as your name and email address when you contact us. We do not require user registration to access the Site.

Technical Data: We automatically collect certain technical information when you visit the Site, including your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution, referring URL, pages viewed, time spent on pages, and search queries entered on the Site.

VIN Data: If you use the VIN decoder, the VIN you enter is transmitted to NHTSA's public API for decoding. We do not permanently store VINs entered by users.

What We Do NOT Collect: We do not collect Social Security numbers, financial information (credit card numbers, bank accounts), health or medical information, biometric data, political or religious beliefs, geolocation data beyond what is derivable from IP addresses, or any information from social media profiles. We have no mechanism for tracking users across third-party websites, and we do not engage in cross-site behavioral tracking.

Search Queries: When you use the search function on the Site to look up vehicles by make, model, or year, we may temporarily log these queries for the purpose of improving search functionality and understanding aggregate usage patterns. These logs do not contain personally identifiable information and are automatically purged after 90 days.

Automatic Data Collection Technologies

Essential Cookies: We use cookies that are strictly necessary for the operation of the Site, including session management and security tokens (CSRF protection).

Analytics Cookies: We may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with the Site. Google Analytics uses cookies (_ga, _gid, _gat) to collect aggregated, anonymous usage data. IP addresses are anonymized.

Advertising Cookies: We may display advertisements through Google AdSense or similar ad networks. These services may use cookies (including the DoubleClick cookie) to serve interest-based advertisements based on your prior visits to this Site or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to this Site and/or other sites on the Internet. You can opt out of personalized advertising through Google Ad Settings, the NAI opt-out page, or the DAA opt-out page. For users in the European Economic Area, you can manage your preferences through the EDAA opt-out page.

Managing Cookies: Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can set your browser to refuse all or some cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable or refuse cookies, some parts of the Site may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit allaboutcookies.org.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to: present and improve Site content and functionality; respond to your inquiries and requests; analyze Site usage patterns and optimize performance; detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents; comply with legal obligations; and enforce our Terms of Service.

We do not sell, rent, lease, trade, or otherwise make available your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We have never sold personal information, and we have no plans to do so in the future. In the event that our data practices change, we will update this policy and provide notice to users before any sale of personal information occurs.

Disclosure of Your Information

We may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information without restriction. For example, we may share statistics about the number of VIN lookups performed, the most-searched vehicle makes, or general traffic patterns. This aggregated data cannot be used to identify any individual user.

We may disclose personal information in the following limited circumstances: to service providers and contractors who assist us in operating the Site, including hosting providers, analytics services, and content delivery networks, subject to confidentiality obligations; to comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including responding to any government or regulatory request; to a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of RecallCheck's assets; to enforce or apply our Terms of Service and other agreements; and when we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of RecallCheck, our users, or others, including exchanging information with other organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Data Sources and Accuracy Disclaimer

RecallCheck aggregates publicly available data from the following federal sources: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for recall notices, consumer complaints, safety investigations, VIN decoding, and crash test ratings; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) for fuel economy data; and SAE International standards for OBD-II diagnostic codes.

ALL DATA IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR TIMELINESS. RecallCheck is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NHTSA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, EPA, DOE, SAE International, or any vehicle manufacturer, dealer, or automotive industry entity. The presence of any make, model, or manufacturer name on the Site does not imply any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names referenced on the Site are the property of their respective owners.

Third-Party Services and Integrations

The Site may integrate with: Google Analytics (usage analysis), Google AdSense (advertising), Cloudflare (CDN, security, DNS, and DDoS protection), and Cloudflare Turnstile (bot detection). Each third-party service operates under its own privacy policy, which we encourage you to review.

Data Retention

Contact form submissions are retained for 12 months, then deleted. Server logs are retained for 90 days. Google Analytics data retention is set to 14 months. We retain technical data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including: HTTPS/TLS 1.2+ encryption for all data in transit; HTTP-only, SameSite cookies; Cloudflare Web Application Firewall (WAF); parameterized database queries to prevent SQL injection; input validation and output encoding; rate limiting on forms and API endpoints. No method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security against all threats, including sophisticated cyberattacks, zero-day vulnerabilities, or state-sponsored intrusions. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by applicable law.

Your Privacy Rights

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect and how it is used, the right to request deletion of your personal information, the right to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information), and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights. We will respond to verifiable consumer requests within 45 calendar days of receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. We will deliver our response by mail or electronically, at your option. Any disclosures we provide will cover only the 12-month period preceding the receipt of the verifiable consumer request. If we cannot comply with a request, our response will explain the reasons. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded.

EEA/UK Residents (GDPR): You have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection. Our lawful bases for processing include consent, legitimate interests (Site improvement and security), and legal obligations. To exercise any right, contact us at [email protected].

Children's Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13 years of age (under 16 in the European Economic Area). We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under these ages. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at [email protected] so that we can take necessary action to delete such information. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from children without verification of parental consent, we will take immediate steps to remove that information from our servers within 30 days of discovery.

International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in North America. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States. By using the Site, you consent to such transfers.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes are effective when posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact Information

For privacy-related questions or requests, contact us at: [email protected]. We will respond within 30 business days.