The Carseum

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 October 2026

This policy explains what personal data The Carseum app collects, why, who it's shared with, how long it's kept and your rights. We've kept it in plain English.

1. Who we are

The Carseum is run by HJDEDE LOGISTICS LTD, trading as The Carseum ("we", "us"). We are the controller of your personal data. Contact us about privacy at carseum@icloud.com.

2. Who can use The Carseum

You must be 13 or older. We ask for your date of birth when you sign up and refuse accounts for under-13s. If you're under 18, your profile starts private. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 13, we delete it.

3. What we collect

You give us

• Account: email address, password (stored encrypted, we can't see it), username, display name, date of birth (private, never shown on your profile) and when you accepted our terms.
• Profile: bio, town or city, country, profile and cover photos, favourite car brands, privacy settings.
• Your cars: make, model, engine, mods, photos, build timeline and costs, service reminders, and any private notes you add.
• Content: posts, photos, videos, stories, comments, likes, saved posts, spotted cars, drive routes, meets and challenge entries.
• Messages: direct messages, group chats and voice notes.
• Verification: photos or documents you send to get verified. These are only seen by our reviewers and deleted once reviewed.
• Businesses (garages and mechanics): company name, type, address, phone, website, specialties, payment and review links, and proof documents (deleted once reviewed).
• Reviews and bookings: reviews you write, garage replies, appointment requests, times and their status.
• Reports: content or accounts you report and why.

Collected when you use features

• Location: only when you choose to. Live location is shared with a group only while you have sharing turned on, and is deleted when sharing ends. Meet points and routes are saved when you create them. Spotted cars are stored with a location rounded to about 1 km. Your location is used on your device to sort garages and meets by distance and isn't stored for that.
• Driving: driving mode uses your phone's speed on your device to switch to a simpler screen. Speed isn't stored or shared.
• Microphone: only while you record a voice note.
• Camera and photos: only the photos and videos you choose to post or send.
• Technical: sign-in times, and basic technical logs kept by our hosting provider to run and secure the service.

We don't use advertising trackers, we don't sell your data, and we don't build ad profiles.

4. Why we use it, and our legal basis

• To provide the app (your account, profile, posts, messages, groups, garages, bookings): necessary for our contract with you.
• To keep people safe (checking age, filtering banned words, handling reports, removing illegal content, preventing abuse and fraud): our legitimate interests, and our legal obligations.
• Location, microphone, camera and notifications: your consent, given through your phone's permissions. You can turn these off at any time in your phone's settings.
• Emails about your account (confirming your email, resetting your password): necessary for our contract with you. We don't send marketing emails without your consent.

5. Who can see your data

• Other users see what you make public: your profile, posts, comments, reviews and cars. With a private profile, only approved followers see your posts. Messages are seen by the people in that chat. Live location is seen by members of the group you share it with.
• Garages see your name and the details of appointments you book with them, and messages you send them.
• Our service providers, who process data for us under contract:
  • Supabase (database, file storage, sign-in), hosted in Ireland (EU)
  • Apple (Apple Maps and directions on iPhone, and app distribution)
  • GitHub (hosting the web pages for shared links)
  • our email delivery provider, for account emails
• The DVLA, only if you look up a car by its registration number: we send them that number to get the car's details.
• The authorities, when the law requires it, or to protect someone from serious harm (for example, reporting child abuse material).

Your data is stored in the EU, which the UK recognises as giving adequate protection. If a provider processes data outside the UK or EU, they do so under approved safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.

6. How long we keep it

• Your account and content: until you delete them, or delete your account.
• Stories: 24 hours.
• Voice notes: 30 days.
• Hidden posts: deleted 5 days after being hidden. Meets: deleted a week after they end.
• Live location: deleted when sharing ends.
• Verification and business proof documents: deleted once reviewed.
• Deleting your account deletes your profile, posts, cars, messages, photos, videos and documents straight away. Backups held by our hosting provider are overwritten within a short period.
• We may keep a limited record of serious rule breaking (for example illegal content) for as long as needed to keep people safe or meet legal duties.

7. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can:

• Get a copy of your data: in the app, go to Settings & privacy → Download my data.
• Correct it: edit your profile and content in the app, or ask us.
• Delete it: Settings & privacy → Delete account.
• Object to, or ask us to restrict, how we use it.
• Take it elsewhere: the download is a standard JSON file.
• Withdraw consent for location, microphone, camera or notifications at any time in your phone's settings.

To use any right, email carseum@icloud.com. We reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

8. Security

Data is encrypted in transit and access is restricted by account, so people only see what they're allowed to. Proof documents and voice notes are kept in private storage. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we'll tell you and the ICO as the law requires.

9. Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date above. For significant changes we'll tell you in the app.