1. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE
This Privacy Policy explains how carclub.org LLC (“carclub.org,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, sells, shares, and otherwise processes personal information in connection with the carclub.org website, applications, and services (the “Platform”). It applies to individuals who use the Platform and to the organizations that operate on it. By using the Platform, you acknowledge this Privacy Policy. It is incorporated into our Terms of Service.
PLEASE NOTE: We may use and disclose personal information for commercial purposes, and we may sell and share personal information with third parties as described in this Policy. You may have the right to opt out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and to limit the use of your sensitive personal information, as described in Sections 9 and 13.
2. OUR ROLE AND ORGANIZATIONS’ ROLE
The Platform serves both individuals and independent organizations such as car clubs, cars-and-coffee groups, track-day and off-road groups, motorcycle clubs, and other motorsports organizations (each an “Organization”).
Each Organization independently determines how it collects and uses information about its own members, applicants, and guests, and is an independent business responsible for its own privacy practices. carclub.org is a separate and independent business that collects and maintains its own information obtained through the Platform and uses, discloses, sells, shares, and otherwise processes that information for its own purposes as described in this Policy. This Policy describes carclub.org’s practices, not the independent practices of any Organization. If you have questions about how a particular Organization handles your information, contact that Organization.
3. CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We collect the following categories of personal information, using the categories established under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). The specific information collected depends on how you and your Organization use the Platform.
| CCPA Category | Examples | Do we sell/share? |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Name, username, email, phone, postal address, IP address, device and account identifiers, invitation/referral codes. | Yes |
| Customer records | Contact details, membership and dues records, billing information processed through Stripe (we do not store full card numbers). | Yes |
| Protected classifications | Age or date of birth, and other attributes you or your Organization choose to provide (for example, on waivers). | Yes |
| Commercial information | Dues, tickets, and purchases; marketplace listings and interest; vehicles owned, for sale, or of interest. | Yes |
| Internet/network activity | Interactions with the Platform, pages viewed, forum and map activity, RSVPs, and similar usage data. | Yes |
| Geolocation data | Precise location associated with event check-ins, drive routes, and map contributions, and approximate location from IP address. | Yes |
| Audio/visual information | Photographs and images of you, your vehicles, and events that you or others submit. | Yes |
| Vehicle information | Make, model, year, modifications, maintenance logs, VIN, license plate, registration, and other vehicle details you or your Organization provide. | Yes |
| Professional/social | Social media handles and links, and roles within an Organization. | Yes |
| Sensitive personal information | Precise geolocation; driver’s license or other government identifier and account log-in credentials. See Section 4. | Yes* |
| Inferences | Profiles and inferences drawn from the above reflecting preferences, interests, and characteristics. | Yes |
* You may limit our use and disclosure of sensitive personal information as described in Sections 4 and 13.
4. SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION
Some information we collect is “sensitive personal information” under the CCPA, including precise geolocation, a driver’s license or other government-issued identifier, and account log-in credentials. We may use and disclose this information for the purposes described in this Policy, including to provide and secure the Platform and, where permitted, for our commercial purposes. You have the right to limit our use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information to certain permitted purposes, as described in Section 13. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent before processing sensitive personal information for purposes that require it.
5. SOURCES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We collect personal information from: you directly, when you register, complete a profile, upload content, RSVP, transact, or communicate with us; Organizations, which may submit or import information about their members, applicants, and guests; other Users, for example when they photograph you or reference you in content; your devices and browsers, automatically through cookies and similar technologies; and service providers and partners, such as Stripe and analytics providers.
6. HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION
We use personal information for the following purposes:
- to provide, operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Platform;
- to create and manage accounts, memberships, applications, dues, tickets, and waivers;
- to process payments through Stripe;
- to communicate with you, including service messages and, where permitted, marketing;
- for advertising, including behavioral and cross-context advertising and ad targeting;
- for analytics, market research, and product development;
- to share with our partners and with Organizations’ sponsors and partners;
- to develop, train, and improve artificial intelligence and machine-learning models, our own and those of third parties;
- to sell or license personal information and information derived from it to third parties;
- to detect, prevent, and address fraud, security, and technical issues; and
- to comply with law and enforce our Terms.
7. HOW WE DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION
We disclose personal information to:
- Organizations, and their administrators, with respect to their members, applicants, and guests;
- other Users, where you make information visible through profiles, directories, forums, listings, maps, or events, subject to available privacy settings;
- service providers and vendors that perform services for us, such as hosting, payment processing (Stripe), analytics, and communications;
- advertising partners, data partners, sponsors, and other third parties, including buyers and licensees of data such as dealers, manufacturers, insurers, marketers, and data brokers;
- professional advisors, and parties to a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets; and
- law enforcement or others when required by law or to protect rights, safety, or the Platform.
8. SALE AND SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We sell and share personal information. Under the CCPA, “sell” means disclosing personal information to a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration, and “share” means disclosing personal information to a third party for cross-context behavioral advertising. In the preceding twelve months, we may have sold or shared the categories of personal information marked “Yes” in the table in Section 3, including identifiers, customer records, commercial information, internet or network activity, geolocation data, audio/visual and vehicle information, social information, sensitive personal information, and inferences.
The categories of third parties to whom we sell or share personal information include advertising and analytics partners, data partners and data brokers, dealers and manufacturers, insurers, marketers, sponsors, and other buyers and licensees of data.
You have the right to opt out of the sale and sharing of your personal information. See Section 13 for how to exercise this right, including through our “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” mechanism. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of individuals under 18 years of age, and the Platform is restricted to individuals 18 and older.
9. ADVERTISING AND CROSS-CONTEXT BEHAVIORAL ADVERTISING
We and our partners may use cookies and similar technologies to deliver advertising, including cross-context behavioral advertising based on your activity across different sites and services. This activity may constitute “sharing” under the CCPA. You can opt out as described in Section 13. Some browsers offer a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal; where required, we treat a valid GPC signal as a request to opt out of sale and sharing for the associated browser or device.
10. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MODEL TRAINING
We may use personal information and content submitted to the Platform to develop, train, fine-tune, and improve artificial intelligence and machine-learning models, and we may make personal information, content, and derived datasets available to third parties for their own model development and training. Where we use de-identified or aggregated data for these purposes, we will maintain it in de-identified form and will not attempt to re-identify it except as permitted by law.
11. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
We and our partners use cookies, pixels, SDKs, and similar technologies to operate the Platform, remember preferences, measure performance, and support analytics and advertising. The Platform may also use Google reCAPTCHA to combat spam and abuse, which is subject to Google’s privacy policy and terms. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling them may affect functionality. Where required, we provide a cookie banner or preference tool and honor opt-out preference signals.
12. DATA RETENTION
We retain personal information for as long as needed to provide the Platform, for the purposes described in this Policy, and to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Retention periods vary based on the type of information and the purpose for which it is used. We may retain de-identified, aggregated, or archived information indefinitely.
13. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Depending on where you live and subject to legal exceptions, you may have the following rights regarding personal information we hold about you:
- Right to know / access. To request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose, sell, or share it.
- Right to delete. To request deletion of personal information we collected from you, subject to exceptions.
- Right to correct. To request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Right to opt out of sale and sharing. To direct us not to sell or share your personal information.
- Right to limit use of sensitive personal information. To limit our use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information to purposes permitted by law.
- Right to non-discrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
Residents of other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws may have similar rights, including the right to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, and certain profiling, and a right to appeal a denied request. We extend the opt-out of sale and sharing to all U.S. users regardless of state.
13.1 How to exercise your rights
You may submit a request by emailing info@carclub.org. We will verify your request by confirming information associated with your account. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf, with proof of authorization. We will respond within the timeframes required by law.
13.2 Opt-out and preference signals
To opt out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, send a request to info@carclub.org. Where required by law, we honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) as a valid opt-out request for the associated browser or device.
13.3 Appeals
If we decline your request and your state provides a right to appeal, you may appeal by contacting info@carclub.org with the subject line “Privacy Appeal.”
14. ADDITIONAL CALIFORNIA DISCLOSURES
This Policy, including Sections 3, 7, and 8, serves as our notice at collection under the CCPA and describes the categories of personal information and sensitive personal information we collect, the purposes for which we use them, and whether we sell or share them. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes other than those permitted by the CCPA without offering the right to limit. California’s “Shine the Light” law: you may request information about disclosures to third parties for their direct marketing purposes by contacting info@carclub.org.
15. DATA SECURITY
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your credentials confidential.
16. CHILDREN
The Platform is intended for individuals who are at least 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected personal information from someone under 18, we will take steps to delete it.
17. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES AND LINKS
The Platform integrates with and links to third-party services, including Stripe, Discord, and Google services. Those services are governed by their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their practices. We encourage you to review them.
18. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice by posting the updated Policy with a new effective date or through the Platform. Your continued use of the Platform after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
19. CONTACT US
If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, contact us at:
carclub.org LLC
Email (general): info@carclub.org
Email (privacy requests): info@carclub.org