Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 2026

K-AutoLabs ("we," "our," or "us") operates the vehicle diagnostic mobile application. This Privacy Policy describes how your information is handled and protected when you use our application.

We practice data minimization and total non-retention by default: we only process the absolute minimum data required to make the app's core features work, and we do not track you or sell your data.

1. How We Handle Your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

We only use your VIN to identify your vehicle’s make, model, and year so we can provide an accurate, vehicle-specific diagnosis. We process it in two distinct ways to protect your privacy:

• VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION: Your full 17-character VIN is transmitted temporarily to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public API to decode the make, model, and year. Following official NHTSA API guidelines, this request is stateless and utilizes a masked or partial string where available. No personal user data or diagnostic faults are included in this request. You can review how the federal government secures and handles api queries via the NHTSA Privacy Policy (https://www.nhtsa.gov/about-nhtsa/privacy-policy).

• AI DIAGNOSIS (ANONYMIZED FALLBACK): When asking our cloud AI to analyze your vehicle, we mask the last 6 characters of your VIN (which represent your vehicle's unique serial number). The AI only receives the anonymous prefix (e.g., 1HGCM82633A******) so it knows the vehicle type without being able to identify your specific physical car.

2. Data Storage and Retention (Vehicle Diagnostic Data)

We designed this app to process your vehicle's data locally and in real-time. We do not store, retain, or build a history of your vehicle's diagnostic scans on our servers.

• SCAN DATA: All diagnostic data—including VIN, Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), and limited live engine data (like RPM, Coolant Temperature, and Battery Voltage) read from your vehicle—is processed temporarily in memory strictly to generate your plain-English diagnostic report. Once you close the app or disconnect from the hardware scanner, this data is completely erased. We do not use this data to identify you or your personal driving habits.

3. Device Permissions (Bluetooth and Location)

To establish a connection with your physical OBD-II hardware scanner, the application requests the following device permissions:

• BLUETOOTH PERMISSIONS: The app requires Bluetooth permissions to scan for, connect to, and read data from your physical OBD-II hardware scanner.

• LOCATION PERMISSIONS: On Android devices, granting Bluetooth access inherently requires granting "Location" permissions due to the operating system's architecture. We do not track, collect, or store your physical GPS location. The location permission is strictly used by the operating system to find nearby Bluetooth OBD-II scanners.

4. Customer Support and Feedback

If you choose to contact us or submit feedback through the app's internal communication features:

• SUPPORT RETENTION: The message you type, along with any support details you provide, will be stored securely in our cloud database solely so our support team can read, troubleshoot, and respond to your inquiry at support@k-autolabs.com.

5. Third-Party Services and Data Sales

We maintain a strict anti-data-broker policy. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal or vehicle data to advertisers, marketers, or data brokers. Data is only shared with trusted third-party services exclusively to make the app's core features work:

• THE NHTSA (U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION): For secure, public-domain vehicle specification decoding. All data handled by their endpoints is governed by the Official Department of Transportation Privacy Policy (https://www.nhtsa.gov/about-nhtsa/privacy-policy).

• CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE & AI API PROVIDERS: For secure, transient processing of diagnostic parameters to generate reports.

6. Data Deletion Rights

Because our app operates with a strict zero-retention policy for vehicle diagnostic scans, there is no historical scan database to delete. However, you may request the total deletion of your support email communication history or feedback entries at any time by contacting us directly at support@k-autolabs.com.