Privacy Policy

TryCarMatch ("we", "us", "our") is a UK-based online service that helps people find and research used cars. We operate the website trycarmatch.co.uk. We are the data controller for the personal information we collect about you. You can contact us at info@trycarmatch.co.uk with any questions about this policy or your personal data.

We collect the following categories of personal data: Account data: Your email address, display name and, where you sign in via Google or Apple, your profile picture. We store this to create and manage your account. Usage data: Information about how you use TryCarMatch, including quiz answers, car matches viewed, vehicle checks performed and pages visited. We use this to improve the service. Vehicle check data: Registration numbers you submit for MOT or vehicle history checks. These are passed to the DVLA and DVSA APIs to retrieve official vehicle data and are stored against your account for your check history. Payment data: If you purchase a Pro Pack, your payment is processed by Stripe. We do not store your card details. We retain a record of your purchase (amount, date, Stripe transaction ID) for accounting purposes. Communications: If you email us, we retain that correspondence to respond to you.

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases: Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b)): Processing your account data and delivering the service you have signed up for. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): Improving the service, preventing fraud, and maintaining security. We have carried out a balancing test and are satisfied our interests do not override your rights. Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): Retaining financial records for seven years as required by HMRC. Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): Where we ask for your permission for a specific purpose, such as optional email communications. You can withdraw consent at any time.

We use your personal data to: • Create and manage your account • Deliver car matching results and vehicle check reports • Process payments and maintain billing records • Respond to your support requests • Improve and debug the service • Detect and prevent fraudulent activity • Comply with legal obligations We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use your data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

We use the following third-party services, each acting as a data processor on our behalf: Supabase: Our database and authentication provider. Your account data and usage data are stored on Supabase infrastructure (EU region). supabase.com/privacy Stripe: Payment processing. Card data is handled entirely by Stripe and never touches our servers. stripe.com/gb/privacy Anthropic (Claude): Powers our AI car matching and AI advisor. Quiz answers are sent to Anthropic's API to generate recommendations. anthropic.com/privacy DVLA / DVSA: Vehicle registration numbers you submit are sent to official UK government APIs (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) to retrieve vehicle data. These are government services, not commercial third parties. Marketcheck: Provides used car listing data. No personal data is shared with Marketcheck. We require all processors to handle your data securely and in accordance with UK GDPR.

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. If you delete your account, we delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain records by law (for example, payment records are retained for seven years under HMRC requirements). Vehicle check history is deleted when your account is deleted.

Under UK GDPR you have the following rights: Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. Right to rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data. Right to erasure: Ask us to delete your personal data ("right to be forgotten"). You can also do this directly by going to your profile and selecting Delete Account. Right to restrict processing: Ask us to stop using your data in certain ways. Right to data portability: Request your data in a structured, commonly used format. Right to object: Object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interests. To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@trycarmatch.co.uk. We will respond within one month. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

We use essential cookies and local storage to keep you signed in and remember your session. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Our authentication provider (Supabase) sets a session cookie when you sign in. This is strictly necessary for the service to function and does not require consent under UK PECR.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure database access controls and limited internal access to personal data. No internet transmission is completely secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at info@trycarmatch.co.uk.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.