Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Carfanz Ltd ("PYCL", "we", "us", "our") collects and uses your personal data when you use PYCL. We are the data controller (Carfanz Ltd, company number 14613353). Contact for privacy matters: info@pycl.app. We are registered in England and Wales and comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Summary
• PYCL is an 18+ social network for car enthusiasts. • We collect the information you give us (account, profile, cars, posts and messages), a pass/fail age-check result, and some technical/device information. • For the age check we use a specialist age-assurance provider; we do not store your selfie, ID, biometrics or date of birth. • We use your data to run the app, keep it safe and 18+, and improve it. • We do not sell your personal data. • You have rights over your data, including access and deletion.
2. The personal data we collect
a. Information you give us • Account: email address, password (stored only in hashed form), display name, @handle, and optional profile photo, bio and home location/region. • Your cars: make, model, variant, year, colour, specification and modifications; photos; and your vehicle registration (number plate), which you can choose to display or hide. • Content: posts, photos, videos, reels, stories, comments, reactions, private messages, groups, events and for-sale listings. • Verification evidence (optional): a one-time "possession" photo (stored privately, never shown publicly), and any dyno or timing evidence you upload. • Support: anything you send us at info@pycl.app. b. Age-assurance result • A pass/fail result and a reference from our age-assurance provider, plus which method was used and the number of attempts. We do not receive or store the image, ID document, biometric template or date of birth. c. Information from your vehicle registration • When you enter a number plate, we retrieve publicly available vehicle details from the DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service to help complete your car profile. d. Information we collect automatically • Technical/device: IP address, device type and operating system, app version, and a push-notification token. • Usage: how you interact with features (e.g. posts viewed, follows, likes, Revs earned) and diagnostic logs used for security, debugging and abuse-prevention. e. Optional location • If you add a "check-in" or an event location, we process that location. We use a mapping service to search places. We do not track your background location. We do not intentionally collect special-category data. Please do not post it about yourself or others.
3. Children
PYCL is strictly for adults (18+). We do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to use the Service, and we operate an age check at sign-up for exactly this reason. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will close it and delete the data. If you believe an under-18 is using PYCL, contact info@pycl.app.
4. How and why we use your data
We use your data for these purposes, each with a lawful basis under the UK GDPR: • Create and run your account and the core social features — Contract. • Verify you are 18+ and keep under-18s off the Service — Legal obligation and legitimate interests (child safety / Online Safety Act). • Moderate content and keep the Service safe (automated screening, reports, enforcement) — Legitimate interests (safety, integrity) and legal obligation. • Vehicle look-ups to build your car profile — Contract (feature you request). • Send service notifications (e.g. replies, follows) — Legitimate interests / Contract. • Security, fraud/abuse prevention, debugging — Legitimate interests and legal obligation. • Improve and develop the Service — Legitimate interests. • Optional location / check-ins — Consent. • Marketing emails (if any) — Consent, or legitimate interests for limited service-related updates. • Advertising (once introduced) — Consent and/or legitimate interests. • Business subscriptions — Contract. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against your rights; you can ask us about this at info@pycl.app. We do not currently show advertising. We intend to introduce advertising — including from third-party advertising networks (such as Google) — as the app grows. Before we do, we will update this Policy and, where the law requires (for example for advertising cookies or identifiers), obtain your consent first.
5. Age assurance — what we store
We use a specialist third-party age-assurance provider to check your age at sign-up. It performs a facial age estimation and, if needed, an ID-document check, on its own systems. It tells us only whether you passed or failed (plus a reference and the method used). PYCL never receives or stores your selfie, ID document, biometric data or date of birth. The provider processes your image/ID under its own privacy terms for the purpose of the check.
6. Who we share data with
We share personal data only as follows: • Other users — the parts of your profile and content you choose to make visible (your public profile, cars you show, posts, comments, and any number plate you choose to display). Private messages are shared with the recipient(s). • Service providers who help us run PYCL — these process personal data on our behalf, under contract and only on our instructions. They include providers of: cloud hosting and database services; image storage, video hosting and content delivery; age assurance; automated content moderation; vehicle-registration look-ups; place/mapping search for check-ins; and push-notification and app-distribution services. • Advertising and payment providers (when introduced) — when we launch advertising, we will use advertising and measurement networks (such as Google); when we offer paid business subscriptions, we will use a payment processor. We will update this Policy before they go live. • Legal / safety — we may disclose data where required by law, to enforce our Terms, to prevent harm, or in connection with a business sale or reorganisation. We do not sell your personal data.
7. International transfers
Some of our providers are based in, or process personal data outside, the UK — including in the United States. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision.
8. How long we keep data
• Account and profile: while your account is open, and for a limited period after closure for backups, legal and safety reasons. • Content: until you delete it or your account is closed; residual backup copies may persist for a reasonable period; content shared with others may remain with them. • Age-check result: kept as a pass/fail record while your account exists, to evidence compliance. • Verification "possession" photo: kept only as needed to run and evidence the check; not published. • Logs / technical data: typically kept for a limited period for security and debugging.
9. How we protect your data
We use technical and organisational measures including encryption in transit, hashed passwords, access controls, and private storage for sensitive items (e.g. the possession photo). No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and will notify you and the ICO of a personal-data breach where the law requires.
10. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to: access your data; ask us to correct or delete it; object to or restrict processing; withdraw consent (where we rely on consent); and data portability. To exercise any right, contact info@pycl.app. We will respond within one month (extendable for complex requests). You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk — though we'd appreciate the chance to help first. You can delete your account at any time in the app.
11. Automated decisions
Our automated content-moderation may block a post or restrict an account before or after it is posted. This is not a "solely automated decision producing legal or similarly significant effects" in the ordinary case, and you can ask a human to review an enforcement decision by contacting info@pycl.app.
12. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If a change is material we will give reasonable notice (in-app or by email). The "last updated" date at the top shows the current version.
13. Contact
Questions or requests: info@pycl.app — Carfanz Ltd.