Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Quack Auto Budgeting App LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects information when you use the QuackAutoService (the “Service”). We are committed to being transparent about our data practices and to giving you meaningful control over your information. This policy applies to all users of the Service in the United States.

It does not apply to third-party services we integrate with (such as our payment provider or AI providers), which are governed by their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review those policies when you use those services.

2. Information We Collect

Account information

When you register, we collect your email address and any name you provide. If you sign up using a third-party sign-in (such as Google), we receive the basic profile information that provider shares with us. Your account also stores your role and the date you joined.

Vehicle information

To provide the Service, you may enter details about vehicles you track, including year, make, model, trim, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), odometer readings, estimated annual mileage, transmission and engine type, and ownership-cost details such as loan, insurance, and tax information.

Repair, fuel, and mileage records

You may log repair records (including repair type, cost, date, mileage, shop name, and notes), fuel records (including gallons, price per gallon, total cost, and station name), and mileage trips (including distance, date, purpose, and destination). You may also link records to maintenance schedule items.

Uploaded images

You may upload images of fuel and repair receipts or invoices. These images are stored and may be processed by AI to extract data (such as totals, line items, or station names) and to verify your records.

Approximate location

To resolve state-average gas prices and property-tax estimates, the Service may determine the U.S. state associated with your location. You can also set or override this manually. We use state-level location, not precise coordinates, for these features.

Precise location (GPS trip tracking)

When you use the optional GPS mileage tracking feature, QuackAuto collects precise geographic coordinates from your device while a trip is active. These coordinates are used to calculate the trip distance and to determine start and end addresses. When you finish a trip, sampled route points are sent to our servers and then to Google Maps APIs (Routes API for road-network distance and Geocoding API for reverse-geocoded addresses) to produce an audit-grade distance and location record. The saved trip record stores the calculated distance and the reverse-geocoded start and end addresses; the full route point set is not permanently stored.

GPS tracking is optional. You can stop a trip at any time, discard a trip without saving it, or log mileage manually instead. Location permission is requested only when you start a GPS trip, and you can revoke it at any time in your device settings.

Usage and device information

We automatically collect technical information such as your device type, browser, and how you interact with the Service. The app also collects optional, anonymous analytics events (such as which features are most used) only after you have affirmatively consented. You can grant or withdraw analytics consent at any time from the Account → Privacy tab or from the first-use consent prompt. See our Cookie Policy for details on cookies and local storage.

Billing information

When you subscribe, your payment details are handled by our payment provider, Base44 Payments. We receive limited billing metadata (such as the product, amount, and subscription status) but do not store your full card number.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service and your account.
• Generate repair estimates, maintenance schedules, vehicle valuations, fuel-economy figures, and recall information.
• Process and verify uploaded receipts and invoices.
• Calculate ownership costs, upcoming service estimates, and cost-per-mile figures.
• Send maintenance reminders, payment reminders, and other service-related emails (which you can opt out of).
• Process payments and manage subscriptions.
• Improve, personalize, and secure the Service, including improving our estimates and baselines using aggregated or de-identified data.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms.

4. AI & Automated Processing

The Service uses artificial intelligence provided through the Base44 platform. Depending on the feature, requests may be routed to AI models from Google (Gemini), OpenAI, or Anthropic. These providers process your prompts and inputs to generate responses, estimates, and extracted data.

What AI generates in the Service:

• Repair cost estimates (DIY and shop), maintenance cost-per-mile figures, and upcoming service cost projections are AI-generated estimates based on general parts and labor data. They are not quotes from local shops.
• Vehicle market values are AI-generated estimates. They are not professional appraisals and are not sourced from KBB, Edmunds, or any recognized valuation service.
• Repair guides, step-by-step instructions, difficulty ratings, and time estimates are AI-generated. They are not professionally authored or expert-verified. Always confirm procedures with a qualified mechanic or official service manual.
• Maintenance intervals may be AI-estimated, community-sourced, or derived from general automotive data. They are not a substitute for your vehicle’s manufacturer-recommended service schedule.
• Receipt and invoice detection (e.g., “AI-detected: shop invoice”) is performed by AI image recognition. No human reviews or professionally authenticates your receipts. Detection results are a best-effort classification and may be incorrect.
• Recall information is sourced from the NHTSA database. Model-based searches may miss VIN-specific campaigns. For a comprehensive check, enter your VIN.

When AI features use web-grounding, the platform may retrieve information from web sources (including search and maps data) to ground the AI’s response. This is part of the AI processing and is not a separate integration with a maps provider.

We do not use automated processing to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you. AI-generated content is reference material, not professional advice. Always verify AI-generated estimates, guides, and detections before making financial or repair decisions.

Your consent is required before we send your personal or user-submitted data to third-party AI providers. The first time you use an AI-powered feature, QuackAuto will ask for your permission and explain what data may be shared and why. Once you allow it, that consent is remembered until you withdraw it from your Account → Privacy tab. If you decline, AI features that would send your data are blocked, and you can use manual entry alternatives instead. Withdrawing consent does not delete data already sent to AI providers.

Each AI provider handles submitted data differently according to its own privacy policy. QuackAuto does not control how long these providers retain your data, whether they use it to improve their own services, or how they process it internally. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these providers, which are linked in the consent disclosure and below.

5. How We Share Information

We share information with the following categories of recipients, as needed to operate the Service:

• AI providers — Google (Gemini), OpenAI, and Anthropic process prompts and inputs to generate AI content and extract data from uploaded images. We share your personal or user-submitted data with these providers only after obtaining your affirmative consent, which you can withdraw at any time from your Account → Privacy tab. Each provider handles data according to its own privacy policy: Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
• Payment processor — Base44 Payments (powered by Wix) processes subscription payments and handles your billing details.
• Vehicle-data sources — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides recall data; other public sources provide vehicle specifications and market values.
• Platform provider — The Base44 platform hosts the Service, stores your data, and processes analytics and AI calls.
• Maps provider — Google Maps APIs (Routes and Geocoding) process sampled GPS coordinates to calculate road-network trip distance and reverse-geocode start and end addresses when you use GPS mileage tracking.
• Service providers — Vendors that help us operate, secure, and support the Service under appropriate contractual obligations.

We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration. We may share information when required by law, to protect our rights, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of our business.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service. When you delete your account, we permanently remove your associated vehicle, repair, fuel, mileage, maintenance preference, notification, and usage-counter data. Billing records (purchase and payment history) are retained for as long as required for tax and accounting purposes. Receipt image files are not referenced by any record after processing; the platform does not expose a file-deletion API, so uploaded files may remain in storage but are inaccessible without a record reference.

Some information may be retained in aggregated, de-identified form, which cannot identify you, and we may retain limited records where required by law or for legitimate business purposes such as fraud prevention or record-keeping.

Vehicles you move to the trash bin are permanently purged after a short retention window. Repair estimate and guide caches are retained to serve future requests and are refreshed on periodic schedules.

7. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Your data is isolated from other users’ data through per-user access controls. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to keep your account credentials confidential.

8. Your Privacy Rights

If you are a resident of certain U.S. states, you may have rights under state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA), and similar laws in other states. These rights may include:

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction — request that we correct inaccurate personal information.
• Deletion — request that we delete your personal information.
• Portability — request your personal information in a portable, usable format where applicable.
• Opt-out of sale or sharing — opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information as defined by applicable law.
• Limit use of sensitive data — limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information where applicable.
• Non-discrimination — receive equal service even if you exercise privacy rights.

The specific rights available to you and how they apply depend on your state of residence and the nature of our processing. Some rights may be subject to exceptions or limitations under applicable law.

9. Exercising Your Rights

To exercise your privacy rights, you can use the tools built into the Service: delete your account and its data from your Account page, manage email notifications from your Account page, and unsubscribe from automated emails using the link provided in each message. You may also contact us throughthe Support feature in your Account page to submit a rights request.

We will verify your identity before responding to requests involving your personal information. We aim to respond to verified requests within the timeframes required by applicable law. Authorized agents may submit requests on your behalf with proof of authorization.

10. Children’s Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. The Service may be used by individuals aged 16 and 17; if you are under 18, you should use the Service with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 16 in error, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

11. Do Not Sell or Share

We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration. To the extent any sharing of personal information with our service providers or for advertising-like purposes is considered a “sale” or “share” under your state’s law, you have the right to opt out. You can do so by contacting us through the Support feature in your Account page. We do not engage in targeted advertising based on your personal information.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice through the Service or by other reasonable means and update the “last updated” date above. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your information, you may contact us throughthe Support feature in your Account page. For privacy requests, please include enough information for us to verify your identity and account.