Root Cause Mechanic — Privacy Policy

Root Cause Mechanic ("we," "us," the "app") helps vehicle owners diagnose problems using their vehicle's own data. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. We built the app to be evidence-based and privacy-preserving: we do not sell your data, we do not use third-party advertising or analytics SDKs, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

1. Information you provide and we store

To provide the service, we store the data you create in the app, associated with your account:

• Account: your email address, used only to sign you in (one-time codes) and for account/support communication.
• Vehicles: details you add — VIN, year/make/model, engine, mileage, nickname.
• Diagnostics: the complaints you describe, case history, trouble codes (DTCs), and maintenance/repair records you keep.
• Repair outcomes you report: if you choose to tell us how a case turned out — what a shop found, what it cost, and whether our diagnosis was right — we store that with the case. It is optional, you can edit or skip it, and we use it to measure and improve our accuracy. Please don't include anything you'd rather not share in the free-text box.
• Vehicle data from your OBD adapter: live and drive readings the app reads over Bluetooth from a scan tool you connect (e.g. engine data, trouble codes). These reads are read-only; the app does not write to or modify your vehicle.
• A device identifier on your drive records: drive records include which of your devices recorded them, via a random app-generated identifier — a short code minted once per install, stored alongside the platform and app version (for example android/1.0(422)/7f3a91). It exists so that if you use more than one phone you can tell which recorded which drive, and so we can tell which app version produced a reading. It is generated by the app and is not a hardware identifier — never your IMEI, Android ID, advertising ID, or serial number — and it is deliberately a different code from the one used for anonymous diagnostics (section 4), so the two cannot be matched to each other.

This data is stored on our managed cloud backend and is access-controlled to your account. It is used to run the diagnostic features you request — not for advertising.

2. Diagnostic processing (AI)

Your case data is not used to train AI models — not ours, and not our provider's. It is sent to the model, used to produce your answer, and that is all. We do not sell it, we do not share it for advertising, and it is not retained by the provider to improve their models.

When you run a consult, the relevant case details (your complaint and the vehicle/diagnostic data for that case) are sent to our backend and on to a third-party AI language model, which generates the structured diagnosis you see. The diagnosis is machine-generated: treat it as an informed starting point for you or your mechanic, not as a certainty.

3. Recall & vehicle lookups

To surface recalls and vehicle specifications, your VIN or year/make/model may be sent to public government/manufacturer data services (e.g. the U.S. NHTSA APIs). These lookups return public safety information and are used only to show it to you.

4. Anonymous diagnostics & usage data

To keep the app reliable, we collect first-party, anonymous product-usage and error information:

• A random, app-generated identifier for the install (not your name, email, IDFA, or any hardware identifier).
• The name of an action or error, the app version, and crash/performance signals.

5. Sharing with a repair shop (only if you choose)

You may generate a one-vehicle share code to let a specific repair shop view that vehicle's history (maintenance, trouble codes, drives) and add repair records. Sharing is per-vehicle, consent-based, and revocable — you can cancel access at any time, and a shop can only add records, never edit or delete your data. We never share your data with a shop unless you create a share.

6. Service providers

We use a small number of processors strictly to run the service: cloud database/authentication hosting, the AI diagnostic model provider, government recall/VIN data services, email delivery, and the Apple App Store. They process data only to provide their function to us. We do not use data brokers, ad networks, or cross-app tracking partners.

7. Your choices & rights

• View your vehicles, cases, drives, and maintenance records in the app at any time, and add to or update them as you go.
• Delete your account yourself, in the app: Settings → Delete Account. This permanently deletes your account and the data tied to it — vehicles, cases, evidence, drives, maintenance records, and reported outcomes — from our servers. It cannot be undone, and you don't need to email anyone to do it. (You can still write to us at support@rcmechanic.shop if you'd prefer.) Anonymous diagnostics data is not deleted, because it was never linked to your identity and cannot be traced back to you.
• Opt out of anonymous diagnostics (full-price users), and revoke any shop share at any time.

8. Data security & retention

Data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) and access-controlled to your account. We keep your data while your account is active. When you delete your account, your account data is deleted from our systems at the time of the request — not queued or archived for later. Anonymous diagnostics and error counts are kept, as they carry no identifier that could link them to you. Backups made before a deletion age out on their normal cycle.

9. Children

The app is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data.

10. Changes

We may update this policy; we will change the effective date above and, for material changes, notify you in the app or by email.

11. Contact

Questions or requests: support@rcmechanic.shop.