Privacy Policy

Effective 21 September 2026 · Applies to the EvmetricsOBD app for iPhone, iPad and Mac

1. Who we are

EvmetricsOBD is developed and published by Evmetrics Ltd (United Kingdom), the data controller for any personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at hello@evmetrics.co.uk.

2. Vehicle diagnostic data

The app communicates with your vehicle through an OBD adapter you own (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or USB) and reads diagnostic data such as sensor readings, battery telemetry, trouble codes (DTCs), the vehicle identification number (VIN) and the odometer. This data is:

• processed on your device;
• stored only on your device (and in your personal iCloud, if you enable sync — see section 8);
• never transmitted to Evmetrics Ltd — we operate no servers that receive app data.

3. Location

With your permission, the app uses your location while in use to record journeys (route maps, distance) and to keep logging vehicle data while your phone is locked during a drive or charging session. Location history is stored on your device as part of your journey records. It is not sent to us or to any third party. You can deny or revoke location access at any time in iOS Settings; the app works without it.

4. Online lookups and the update check

VIN lookup (NHTSA), off by default. If you turn on Settings → Privacy → Look up vehicle details online, the app adds make, model, year and trim to your diagnostic reports by sending the VIN to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vPIC API, a public government service. The request contains only the VIN — no name, email, location or device identifier. NHTSA's handling of requests is governed by its own web policies. With the setting off, nothing is sent and reports simply leave those fields out.

Update check. When it opens, and when you return to it, the app downloads a small settings file from evmetrics.co.uk/obd/app-config.json. It tells the app whether a newer version is available and switches features on or off without an app update. The request is a plain download that carries no account, VIN, vehicle data or device identifier; like any web page, our web host sees the IP address it came from in its standard server logs. If the download fails, the app carries on as normal.

5. The Assistant (on device)

Where it is available in your version of the app, the Assistant lets you ask about your car in plain English. It runs on Apple's on-device Foundation Models, which means the language model itself is part of the operating system on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Your question and your vehicle data are processed locally and are not sent to Evmetrics Ltd, to Apple, or to anyone else. There is no API key, no account and no per-question cost behind it. It requires Apple Intelligence to be available and enabled on your device; where it is not, the app tells you why and the rest of the app is unaffected. Trouble-code names come from a database bundled with the app, entirely offline.

Earlier versions of EvmetricsOBD offered optional trouble-code research through Google's Gemini API. That has been removed. The app now makes no outbound AI requests of any kind.

6. Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight (iOS)

On iOS the app offers Siri phrases, Shortcuts actions and Spotlight search results. To make these work, the app hands selected vehicle information to Apple's on-device Spotlight index: vehicle names, registrations and VINs from your Garage, current sensor readings, the fault codes found by your last scan, and — with EvmetricsOBD Pro — recent journeys and workshop checklists. It also indexes the standard SAE trouble-code table bundled with the app.

• This index is maintained by iOS on your device. It is not sent to Evmetrics Ltd, and we have no access to it.
• Nothing is indexed while Demo Mode is on, so sample data never ends up in your search results.
• Deleting a vehicle in the app removes it from the index; deleting the app removes everything it indexed.
• Spoken requests to Siri are handled by Siri itself, under Apple's privacy policy and your Siri settings. The app receives only the resulting request and answers it from data already on your device.

7. Usage analytics (iOS, can be turned off)

The iOS app uses Firebase Analytics (Google LLC) to understand which features are used and where the app fails, so we can improve it. Collection is anonymised and deliberately coarse: screen views, adapter connect/disconnect outcomes, transport type and the adapter's model name, scan started/completed events with fault counts, warnings and alerts shown, report generation, purchase/restore outcomes, which Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight features are used, and a once-a-day status (how many vehicles are in your garage and how many were scanned recently, whether you have Pro, and how many and which widgets are installed). When something fails, such as a backup, an import or export, a save to disk or a scan, the app records that it failed and a system error code, never the error text or file names. The app never logs VINs, locations, sensor readings or any content of your vehicle data as analytics.

• You can turn analytics off at any time with Settings → Privacy → Share anonymous usage data; the choice applies immediately.
• The Mac build ships without Firebase and sends no analytics at all.
• Google's processing is governed by the Firebase privacy documentation.

8. iCloud sync (optional)

If you enable iCloud sync, your Garage vehicle records, Workshop checklists, Fleet costs and journeys are stored in your private iCloud container, managed by Apple and protected by your Apple ID. Evmetrics Ltd has no access to it. Apple's handling of iCloud data is described in Apple's privacy policy.

9. Reports and exports you share

You can generate diagnostic reports (HTML) and export journeys, workshop templates, fleet records or GPX tracks as files. These may contain vehicle data such as the VIN, odometer and location history. They leave your device only when you choose to share them, and only to the destination you pick in the iOS/macOS share sheet.

10. Device permissions

• Bluetooth — to connect to your OBD adapter.
• Local network — to connect to Wi-Fi OBD adapters. If you save a Wi-Fi adapter's password so the app can join its network automatically, it is kept in the device keychain.
• Notifications — to warn you if the battery pack overheats while charging and the app is in the background. Requested the first time you charge; you can turn the alert off in Settings.
• Location (while in use) — journey logging and background data capture, as described in section 3.

11. Data retention and deletion

Because your data lives on your device, you are in control of it. You can delete individual reports, journeys and vehicles inside the app, disable iCloud sync, or remove everything by deleting the app. There is no server-side copy for us to delete.

12. Your rights

Under the UK GDPR you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection. Since we do not collect or hold your personal data on our systems, most requests can be fulfilled directly on your device — but if you have any question or concern, contact us at hello@evmetrics.co.uk and we will help. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

13. Children

The app is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

14. Changes to this policy

If the app gains features that change how data is handled (for example online vehicle-record lookups), we will update this policy and the App Store privacy label before those features ship. The effective date at the top reflects the latest revision.