HonestVIN Privacy Policy
Effective date: July 13, 2026
1. About HonestVIN
HonestVIN is an Android application developed by mistergou. It helps users review publicly available vehicle information, including VIN decoding information, safety ratings, recall notices, owner complaint information, and related vehicle-shopping resources.
HonestVIN is an informational tool and is not a substitute for a professional vehicle inspection, an official vehicle-history report, or verification through the appropriate government agency.
2. Information You Enter
Users may enter or scan a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), or search using a vehicle year, make, and model.
VINs, vehicle searches, cached reports, and checklist selections may be stored locally on the user's device so that the app can provide recent search history, faster loading, and saved checklist progress.
This locally stored information is not uploaded to a server operated by mistergou. Users can remove locally stored information by clearing the app's storage through Android settings or by uninstalling HonestVIN.
3. Vehicle Data Requests
HonestVIN sends VINs or vehicle year, make, and model information to public National Highway Traffic Safety Administration services when needed to retrieve vehicle information.
These requests may include VIN decoding, vehicle specifications, model-year recall information, owner complaint information, and available crash-safety ratings.
HonestVIN does not operate or control the NHTSA services. Information submitted to those services is subject to the privacy practices and terms of the applicable government service.
4. Camera and VIN Scanning
HonestVIN requests camera permission only when a user chooses to scan a VIN, VIN barcode, or tire DOT date code.
Camera images and video frames used for scanning are processed on the user's device. HonestVIN does not upload or permanently store those camera images on a server operated by mistergou.
HonestVIN uses Google ML Kit technology for on-device text and barcode recognition. Google states that ML Kit processes input images, text, and recognition results on the device and does not send those inputs or results to Google servers.
5. Technical and Diagnostic Data
Although scanned images and recognized VIN information remain processed on the device, Google ML Kit may collect limited technical information for diagnostics and usage measurement.
This technical information may include:
- Device manufacturer and model
- Android version and build information
- HonestVIN's package name and app version
- Performance measurements, such as processing time
- Feature events, model downloads, and error codes
- A per-installation identifier not intended to directly identify the user
According to Google, this technical information is encrypted during transmission and is used to maintain, diagnose, secure, and improve ML Kit services.
6. Reports and Sharing
HonestVIN can generate vehicle-report text and PDF documents on the user's device. Reports may contain the VIN and other vehicle information shown in the app.
HonestVIN does not automatically upload these reports to a developer-operated server. When a user selects Share, Print, Save, or another destination, Android and the selected application or service handle the report according to the user's instructions.
Users should review the privacy practices of any application or service they choose for sharing, printing, cloud storage, messaging, or email.
7. External Websites and Services
HonestVIN may open external websites or applications for additional vehicle research, including government resources, theft and title checks, vehicle-value resources, and other third-party services.
In some cases, HonestVIN may copy a VIN or vehicle description to the device clipboard so the user can paste it into the external service. Opening an external website does not automatically submit the copied VIN unless the user chooses to paste or enter it.
Third-party websites and applications are operated independently and have their own privacy policies, terms, and data practices. Mistergou does not control those services.
8. Donations
HonestVIN may provide an optional link to an external donation or support service.
Payments are handled by the external payment or donation provider. HonestVIN and mistergou do not directly receive, process, or store users' payment-card details.
9. Information HonestVIN Does Not Request
HonestVIN does not require users to create an account.
HonestVIN does not intentionally request or collect:
- Names
- Email addresses, except when a user voluntarily sends an email
- Phone numbers
- Precise or approximate location
- Contacts
- Microphone recordings
- Advertising identifiers for targeted advertising
- Payment-card information
10. Advertising and Sale of Data
HonestVIN does not contain third-party advertising and does not use an advertising SDK.
Mistergou does not sell, rent, or trade personal information or VIN search information.
11. Data Retention and Deletion
Mistergou does not maintain a developer-controlled user-account database or server-side history of HonestVIN searches.
Locally saved VIN history, cached vehicle reports, and checklist data remain on the user's device until they are overwritten, cleared through Android's app-storage settings, or removed when the app is uninstalled.
Information voluntarily included in an email to mistergou may be retained only as reasonably necessary to respond to the request, investigate an app issue, maintain support records, or comply with legal obligations.
12. Data Security
HonestVIN uses HTTPS connections when communicating with supported online data services.
No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. HonestVIN limits transmitted information to what is reasonably necessary to provide the requested vehicle-information feature.
13. Children's Privacy
HonestVIN is a general vehicle-shopping utility and is not designed or directed specifically toward children under 13.
Mistergou does not knowingly collect personal information from children through HonestVIN.
14. Changes to This Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated when HonestVIN's features, services, legal requirements, or data practices change.
The effective date at the top of this page will be updated when material changes are made.
15. Contact
Questions about HonestVIN or this Privacy Policy may be sent to: