Privacy policy

Backseat Mechanic Privacy Policy
Effective October 26, 2026

Backseat Mechanic ("we" or "us") is a text-message service that checks car repair estimates. This policy explains what we collect when you visit backseatmechanic.com, check an estimate or get a maintenance list there, sign up, or text or call us, how we use it, who helps us handle it, and the choices you have.

What we collect: When you join, your name, email address, mobile number and billing details at checkout, plus your car's year, make and model, your ZIP code and how you drive. Card payments go through Shopify's checkout, and we never see your full card number. When you text or call us, your number, your messages and the photos you send. When you check an estimate or ask for a maintenance list on our website, your email address, your car's year, make, model and mileage, your ZIP code, how you drive, and the photos or list of your estimate. When you get our free cheat sheet, your email address. When you write a review, your name, email address, rating, what you write and any photos you add. Reviews are posted on our website for everyone to see. When you email us, your email address and what you write. When you visit our website, cookies and similar tools collect the pages you view, how you scroll, click and move through them, what you add to your cart, your IP address, and basic details about your device and browser. Our estimate check also keeps a random ID in your browser, which we use only to limit free previews and lists.

How we use it: to answer your texts; write your free preview or maintenance list and email it to you, and send your full answer if you join; run your membership, including billing and renewals; send the texts you agreed to, like your welcome text and maintenance reminders; email you about your membership; ask members for a review and post the reviews people write; send the cheat sheet and, if you subscribed, our emails, including reminders if you look at a plan or start signing up and don't finish; review answers to improve the service; see how people use our website; prevent misuse; measure and show our ads; and keep the records the law requires, like tax records.

Who helps us run the service: Shopify (store, checkout, payments and email), Appstle (subscriptions and renewal emails), Twilio (texts and calls), Anthropic's Claude AI (writing answers, previews and maintenance lists), Make (connecting these tools and keeping a log of questions and answers), Google (sign-up form, member records, our texting tools and ads), Microsoft (Clarity, which shows us how people use our website), Judge.me (reviews) and Zoho (our email, including the emails our website sends). We share only what each needs to do its job, and each handles it under its own privacy policy. We may also share information when the law requires it, to protect someone's safety or our rights, or with a company that takes over running Backseat Mechanic.

Ads and cookies: We advertise on Google. Google uses cookies to tell us when someone who clicked one of our ads signs up, and to show our ads to people who have visited our website, on Google and on other sites and apps. This means Google may collect information about your visits to our website and other websites over time. Learn how Google uses this information at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. To manage or turn off personalized ads from Google, visit https://myadcenter.google.com. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Our website doesn't respond differently to browsers' Do Not Track signals.

Website analytics: We use Microsoft Clarity to see how people use our website, through heatmaps and session replays that show how visitors scroll, click and move through our pages. Clarity collects this with first- and third-party cookies and similar tools. We use it to improve our website and to prevent misuse. Learn how Microsoft collects and uses this information in the Microsoft Privacy Statement at https://www.microsoft.com/privacy/privacystatement.

Text messaging: We will never sell or share your mobile number or your text messaging opt-in data and consent with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Reply STOP at any time to stop texts.

Email: We never sell your email address. Every promotional email has an unsubscribe link.

Your choices: To see, correct or delete your information, email hello@backseatmechanic.com. After a deletion, we keep only what the law requires, like tax records. Depending on your state, you may have other privacy rights. Email us to use them, and we won't treat you differently for asking.

How long we keep it: as long as you're a member, and after that only as long as we need it for the reasons above, like answering questions about your account or keeping tax records. If you check an estimate or get a maintenance list and don't join, we keep what you sent and what we wrote for you for up to 12 months, then delete it.

Security: We take reasonable steps to protect your information, but no way of sending or storing information is completely secure.

Children: Backseat Mechanic is for adults 18 and older in the United States. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you think a child has given us information, email us and we'll delete it.

Other websites: Our articles link to carmakers' and government websites, which have their own privacy policies.

Changes: If we change this policy, we'll post the new version here with a new effective date and email members about important changes.

Questions? Email hello@backseatmechanic.com or write to Backseat Mechanic, 391 Las Colinas Blvd E, Ste 130 #4237, Irving, TX 75039.