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Carlos Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 2026

Overview

Carlos (Mechanic Carlos) is an AI-powered car diagnostic tool at mchaniccarlos.com. We take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and how it's used.

What We Collect

Account information
We collect your email address when you create an account. This is used solely to identify your account and associate your garage and diagnoses with you.
Vehicle and diagnostic data
Your car diagnosis history is collected to power your Garage and sync your data across devices. When you run a diagnosis, we receive the year, make, model, and symptom description you enter. This is sent to Anthropic's Claude API to generate a diagnosis.
Quote data
Text or photos you upload to the Quote Checker are sent to Anthropic's Claude API for analysis. Quote photos are not stored after analysis.
Photos and audio
Dashboard and engine-bay photos you attach to a diagnosis are sent to Anthropic's Claude API for analysis and are not stored on our servers after the diagnosis completes. If you use voice input, your speech is transcribed by your browser or device; only the resulting text is sent to us and to Anthropic.
Location (ZIP code)
If you type in a ZIP code, we use it to localize labor-rate estimates and to find nearby repair shops via Google Places. We never access your device's GPS location.
OBD2 scanner data
If you connect an OBD2 Bluetooth adapter, trouble codes, sensor readings, and your car's VIN are read locally on your device. They are included in your diagnosis and, if you're signed in and choose to save the scan, stored in your account.
Payments
Paid subscriptions are processed by Stripe (web) — we never see or store your card number. We store only your subscription tier and a Stripe customer reference.

AI Processing Disclosure

Carlos's diagnoses, quote analyses, and maintenance schedules are generated by artificial intelligence (Anthropic's Claude models). AI output can be inaccurate. The data you submit for analysis (symptoms, photos, audio transcriptions, codes) is processed by Anthropic under their commercial API terms, which do not permit training on your data by default.

Data Retention

Your account, garage, and diagnosis history are retained while your account is active. Diagnosis photos and quote photos are processed transiently and not retained. If you delete your account (or ask us to), associated data is permanently deleted from our database; encrypted backups age out within 30 days.

Push Notifications

If you opt in to maintenance reminders, we use OneSignal to deliver push notifications. OneSignal receives a device push token and an anonymous tag linking to your account. You can revoke this any time in your browser or device notification settings.

What We Don't Do

  • We never sell your personal data to third parties
  • Your diagnosis data is used solely to provide you with the service and improve accuracy over time
  • We do not use your data to train AI models without your consent

Third-Party Services

Anthropic
Vehicle symptoms, issues, and quote text are sent to Anthropic's Claude API for AI analysis. Anthropic's privacy policy governs their handling of this data. We do not share your personal identity with Anthropic.
Supabase
Account data, garage, and diagnosis history are stored in Supabase. Supabase is SOC 2 Type II certified and stores data on AWS.
Google OAuth
If you sign in with Google, Google's privacy policy governs the authentication process. We only receive your email and name.
Vercel
The app is hosted on Vercel. Vercel may collect standard server logs (IP addresses, request metadata) as part of hosting.

Your Rights

To delete your account and all associated data, contact us at mcchaniccarlossupport@gmail.com. You also have the right to access, correct, or export the personal data we hold about you.

Cookies and Local Storage

Carlos uses browser localStorage to save your most recent diagnosis on your device. No third-party tracking cookies are used. Auth session tokens are stored in cookies by Supabase.

Children's Privacy

Carlos is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the product evolves. We'll update the “last updated” date at the top. Continued use of Carlos after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

Questions or data requests? Email us at mcchaniccarlossupport@gmail.com.