Privacy policy

The short version

• Your vehicles, fill-ups, services, expenses and reminders are stored on your phone. There is no AutoMate account or cloud copy.
• The app shows no ads and sells no data.
• It sends anonymous crash reports and anonymous usage statistics. You can turn usage statistics off.
• A VIN you look up is sent to the US government’s free NHTSA database. Nothing else about your car is.

Data storage

Everything you enter (vehicles, fuel logs, service records, expenses, reminders and settings) is stored locally on your device in a SQLite database. There is no AutoMate account, cloud storage or remote database for your records. Your records leave your device only when you choose to export or back them up.

AutoMate sends limited data over the internet only in these cases:

• VIN lookup. If you enter or scan a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), the app sends that VIN to the free NHTSA public API to look up your vehicle’s year, make and model.
• Install notification. Once per install, the app sends its version, your device’s OS and OS version, device brand and model, and language setting to the developer. It contains none of your records, no location and no personal information.
• Usage analytics and crash reports, described below.

Usage analytics

AutoMate collects anonymous usage data through Firebase Analytics to improve the app: app opens and session length, which features are used (for example adding a fill-up or creating a reminder), screen navigation, and device type and OS version. It includes no personally identifiable information.

You can turn this off at any time in Settings, Privacy, Share Usage Data. When it is off, no analytics events are sent.

Crash reports

AutoMate collects anonymous crash reports through Firebase Crashlytics to keep the app stable: stack traces and error details, device type, OS and app version, and a short log of the steps leading to the crash. Crash reporting is always on and cannot be turned off. Crash reports contain no personal information.

What the app does not do

• No advertising SDKs or ad tracking.
• No user profiling.
• No cookies or web beacons.
• No data sold or shared with third parties.
• No collection of names, email addresses or phone numbers.
• No account: no sign-up, no login.

Permissions

Each permission is requested only when you take an action that needs it, never on first launch.

Camera

When you tap the camera button to photograph a receipt or your vehicle, or to scan a VIN barcode. Photos are saved in the app’s own storage. The camera is never used in the background.

Photo library

When you tap the gallery button to attach an existing photo. Only the photo you pick is copied into the app.

Location

When you tap “Use current location” while adding a gas station or service shop. AutoMate reads your position once and saves it with that place, on your device. It does not track your location in the background.

Notifications

When you create your first maintenance reminder. Reminder notifications are generated on your device; no notification data goes to or from a server.

Export, backup and restore

You can export your data as CSV or PDF at any time, filtered by vehicle and date range. You can also back up your database to a file and restore it later. Both are shared through your phone’s standard share sheet, so you decide where the file goes. There is no automatic cloud backup.

This website

automateapp.info sets no cookies and runs no analytics or tracking scripts. It is a static site hosted on GitHub Pages, which may keep standard server logs.

Children

AutoMate is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from children.

Changes and contact

When the policy changes, the updated version ships with the app update and the date on the in-app policy changes with it. Questions go to the developer at arctos.built@gmail.com.