Privacy policy
The short version
- There are no accounts and no sign-in.
- Your VIN is never sent to us. It is decoded in your browser by NHTSA's public API.
- We do not sell or share personal information, and we run no third-party advertising or analytics today.
- The only thing we store in your browser is your own cookie choice, plus a temporary cache of the last VIN lookup so the page does not re-query NHTSA needlessly.
1. What we collect
Nothing that identifies you. The site is static: your browser fetches HTML, CSS, JavaScript and fonts. The server that delivers those files may keep standard access logs (IP address, user agent, path, timestamp) as any web server does. We do not use those logs to build profiles.
No VIN reaches us. The VIN checker sends your VIN directly from your browser to NHTSA's
vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov API and displays what comes back. We never see it, log it or store it. NHTSA's
own privacy practices apply to that request - see NHTSA's
privacy policy. If you press "Copy result link", the VIN becomes part of the URL in your browser's address
bar; that link is yours to keep or share, and you should treat it as public.
Calculator inputs stay local. Loan amount, APR, term, filing status, MAGI and bracket are processed entirely in your browser. The shareable link puts those numbers in the URL in your address bar - if you would rather not have that, do not use the copy-link button.
2. Cookies and local storage
| Storage | Type | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
dmcq-consent | localStorage | Remembers whether you allowed optional analytics and advertising cookies. | Until you clear it |
dmcq-vpic:* | sessionStorage | Caches the decoded NHTSA result for a VIN for the current tab so repeat checks are instant. | Until you close the tab |
Both are set by us and are strictly necessary or functional. There are no advertising or analytics cookies at the time of writing.
3. Analytics and advertising (future)
The site is built to carry advertising later. If Google AdSense or an analytics product is switched on, the following will apply, and the consent banner will control it:
- Google and its partners may use cookies or device identifiers to serve and measure advertising. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, or opt out of third-party vendor cookies at aboutads.info.
- Consent Mode v2 is set to denied by default in the page itself. Analytics and advertising storage only moves to "granted" after you accept the matching category in the banner.
- Non-personalised ads are used where required by law, including for visitors in the EEA, UK and Switzerland.
4. Your choices and rights
You can change your cookie choice at any time by clearing site data for this domain and reloading, which brings the banner back. Because we hold no personal information about you, there is usually nothing to access, correct or delete - but if you believe we hold something, email contact@doesmycarqualify.com and we will respond.
California (CCPA/CPRA): we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CPRA, and we do not knowingly collect information from consumers under 16. If that changes when advertising is enabled, this section will be updated and the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link will appear in the footer.
EEA/UK (GDPR): the only processing we carry out is the strictly necessary storage described above, on the basis of your consent or our legitimate interest in operating the site.
5. Children
This site is for adults making decisions about vehicle financing. It is not directed at children.
6. Changes
Material changes to this policy will be made on this page and the "last updated" date changed. Questions: contact@doesmycarqualify.com.