Drive DTCEffective and last updated September 16, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how DriveDTC ("DriveDTC", "we", "us" or "our") collects, uses and shares information when you use the Drive DTC app, the website at drivedtc.com, and related online services (together, the "Services"). By using the Services, you agree to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. If you don't agree, please don't use the Services.
The short version
Live vehicle data, drive recordings, reports you save, and your garage (vehicles, saved checkups, maintenance, and any customer details you enter) are stored on your computer. They are not sent to us unless you use the cloud features described below. The app also keeps a crash log and your settings on your computer.
Your garage is encrypted on your own computer too. The garage files, and any photos and receipts you attach, are locked using Windows' own data protection, tied to the Windows account you sign in with. Another person using the same PC can't read them, and neither can anyone who obtains a copy of the files – from a backup, a cloud-synced Documents folder, or a lost or stolen computer. Reports you deliberately save or export are ordinary files, so that you can open and send them.
If you create an account, we store your email address, a securely hashed version of your password (we never see your actual password), and a record of which version of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy you agreed to and when.
When you use the app while signed in, we store when you last opened it, the app version, which plan the app reports, and the name and a scrambled identifier of each computer you use it on. We also keep a daily record that an account or licensed computer used the app, with the app version, for overall usage charts. Each account works on a limited number of computers; when you move your account to another computer, we record which computer was removed and when. We use this to operate, secure and support the Services and to enforce license limits.
To confirm what your computer is entitled to, the app regularly asks our license server for a signed license. The request includes your computer's scrambled identifier, your license code (if any) and, when you're signed in, your account. The signed license lists your plan, brand packs and their end dates, and is stored on your computer so the app can keep working offline for a limited time.
Usage statistics are off unless you turn them on in Settings. When they're on, the app sends the trouble codes a checkup finds, the vehicle's make and model year, whether connecting worked, and the names of your adapter and the vehicle's protocol. They don't include your VIN, account, computer identifier or location. To limit abuse, we store a scrambled (hashed) form of your network address with each report. We use these statistics, in aggregate, to decide which vehicles and adapters to support and to fix problems.
If you turn on cloud sync, we store your synced garage: vehicles (including VIN, year and nickname), saved checkups (trouble codes, readiness results, misfire counts, battery voltage and health score), maintenance records, and any customer name, phone number, email or notes you enter in shop mode. All of it is encrypted on your computer before it is uploaded, and we can't read any of it. Your account has one encryption key, which Drive DTC locks with your password and with a recovery key shown to you once. We only ever receive those locked copies, so the garage we store is unreadable to us, to our hosting provider and to anyone who obtains a copy of the database or its backups. It also means that if you forget your password and lose your recovery key, we cannot recover the synced copy for you – nobody can. The garage on your own computer is not affected.
A share link works the same way: the report is encrypted before it is uploaded, and the key that opens it is part of the link, after the #. Web browsers never send that part to a server, so we store a report we can't read, and only someone you give the whole link to can open it. We keep it until the link expires (at most 90 days). If you email a report to a customer from the app, the whole link – including the key – is in that email, so it also passes through our email provider.
If you activate a license code, we store which code was used, a one-way scrambled identifier for your computer (so a code works only on the number of computers it allows), your computer's name, the app version, the Terms version you agreed to, and when the code was activated and last checked. The app re-checks the code from time to time.
The first time a vehicle connects, Drive DTC asks you to confirm that you own it or have the owner's permission to scan it. When you confirm, we record it – but we do not store the VIN itself. We store a one-way scrambled form of it (a keyed fingerprint), its last 6 characters, its 3-character manufacturer code, the model year and whether its check digit adds up, together with the date and time, your account (if you're signed in) or license code, a scrambled identifier for your computer, the app version and the Terms version. That is enough for us to recognise the same vehicle again and to spot made-up VINs, and it means nobody – including us – can read a VIN out of our database. The app also keeps a list of confirmed VINs on your own computer so it doesn't ask again.
Brand packs on some license codes work on a limited number of vehicles. When such a code unlocks a brand pack on a vehicle, we store the same one-way fingerprint and last 6 characters described above – not the VIN – with the code, a scrambled identifier for your computer, and when the vehicle was first and last used.
In shop mode, the app records on your computer (and in your synced garage, if you use cloud sync) when you confirmed that a customer authorized a scan.
If we give your account Pro or Shop directly, we store the plan, its end date and an internal note.
We keep internal notes about an account when needed to run the business – for example, a refund, a chargeback or payment dispute, or a warning about misuse – with the account's email address, the date and, where relevant, the amount. We use these records to handle refunds and disputes and to prevent fraud, as described in our Refund Policy.
If you contact us from Help & support, we store your message, the email address you give (if any), the app version and, if "Include diagnostics" is on, technical details: Windows and app versions, adapter and connection details, the trouble codes from your last checkup, and recent adapter messages. Your VIN is not included in diagnostics. If you're signed in, the message is linked to your account so you can see our reply in the app.
Crash reports are off unless you turn them on in Settings. When they're on and the app crashes, it sends the app version, Windows version and the technical error. Crash reports are not linked to your account, don't include vehicle data, and have your Windows user name removed from file paths.
If you sign up on our website to hear when Drive DTC launches, we store your email address, where you signed up, when you signed up and confirmed, and a scrambled (hashed) form of your network address to prevent spam sign-ups. We send one email to confirm, then only news about Drive DTC's launch and major updates. Every email has an unsubscribe link. If you sign up through a link from a shop or other partner, we record which link you used.
We may email people with a confirmed Drive DTC account about news and updates. Every such email has an unsubscribe link. We may also send automatic emails, such as a check-in a couple of weeks after you sign up or a reminder before a plan or license code ends; these have an unsubscribe link too. Service emails – such as account confirmation, password resets and replies to your support messages – aren't marketing and are sent while you have an account. We keep a record of the emails we send (the address, the type of email, and whether it was delivered) to operate and troubleshoot email.
When the app reads your vehicle's VIN, it looks up the make, model and engine, and the safety recalls for that model, from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a public government service. Only the VIN, or the make, model and year, is sent to NHTSA – not your account details. NHTSA's own privacy practices apply to those requests.
The app downloads announcements and app settings from our servers (for example, a notice that an update is available). This doesn't send personal information beyond what your internet connection normally reveals, such as your IP address.
Our website doesn't use advertising or analytics cookies. Like any website, our hosting providers receive technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested, which may be logged for security and to keep the Services running.
Purchases of Drive DTC Pro or Shop are handled by Microsoft through the Microsoft Store. We don't receive your payment card details. Microsoft's privacy statement applies to those purchases.
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share information only as follows:
Our admin tools show account emails, sign-up and last-seen dates, app versions, plans, license code use, and the number of vehicles and checkups – not the contents of your garage. Access to underlying data is limited to operating, securing and supporting the Services, or as required by law.
Backups and logs kept by our service providers may retain information for a limited time after deletion. We may also keep information when required by law or to resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
We use reasonable safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, access controls that limit each account to its own records, and end-to-end encryption of your synced garage and shared reports (AES-256-GCM, with the key locked by a password stretched with PBKDF2-SHA256 and by your recovery key). However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security. You're responsible for keeping your password and license codes private and for the security of your own computer.
Depending on where you live (for example, in certain U.S. states), you may have rights to access, correct, delete or get a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of certain uses. To make a request, email [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity before responding, and we'll respond as required by applicable law. We won't discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
If you use shop mode to record details about your customers, you are responsible for having their permission and a lawful reason to collect and store that information, for telling them how you use it, and for handling their requests about it. We process that information only to provide the Services to you.
The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.
DriveDTC is based in the United States, and the Services are intended for users in the United States. Information is processed and stored in the United States and other places where our service providers operate. If you use the Services from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll change the date at the top, and for material changes we'll give notice in the app, on our website or by email, and may ask you to agree again. Continuing to use the Services after an update means you accept the updated policy.
Questions or requests about privacy: [email protected]
See also our Terms of Service and Refund Policy.