Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 23, 2026

1. Introduction

PlateHog ("we," "us," or "our") operates the platehog.com website and related services (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

By using PlateHog, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Account information: When you create an account via Clerk (our authentication provider), we receive your name, email address, and profile image.
  • Phone number: If you opt in to SMS notifications, we store your phone number to send availability alerts.
  • Plate searches: The vanity plate text and state you search for, including watchlist entries and bulk check queries.
  • User-submitted content: Rejected plate submissions, votes, and reports you submit through the Hall of Shame feature.
  • Payment information: When you purchase a Pro plan, payment is processed by Stripe. We do not store your full credit card number directly — Stripe handles all sensitive payment data.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage data: Pages visited, features used, search queries, and interaction patterns collected via Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights.
  • Device information: Browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and device type.
  • IP address: Used for geographic state detection (to default your state selector), rate limiting, and fraud prevention. We do not store raw IP addresses long-term.
  • Cookies: See Section 6 below for details on the cookies we use.

3. How We Use Your Information

  • To check vanity plate availability by querying state DMV systems on your behalf.
  • To send you notifications (email and/or SMS) when a watched plate's availability changes.
  • To personalize your experience, such as remembering your preferred state and generating AI-powered plate suggestions.
  • To compute anonymized trending and insights data (most-searched plates, popular states, trending plates from social media).
  • To process payments and manage your Pro subscription.
  • To improve the Service through analytics and performance monitoring.
  • To prevent abuse, enforce rate limits, and maintain security.

4. Third-Party Services

We share information with the following third-party service providers, each of which has its own privacy policy:

  • Clerk — Authentication and user management.
  • Stripe — Payment processing for Pro subscriptions.
  • Resend — Transactional email delivery (notifications, receipts).
  • Twilio — SMS notifications for Pro users.
  • Vercel — Hosting, edge caching, analytics, and speed insights.
  • Groq — AI-powered plate text recognition from images (trending plates feature).
  • Anthropic — AI-powered plate suggestions, roasts, and personality quiz content generation.
  • Neon — PostgreSQL database hosting.

We do not sell your personal information to any third party. Each third-party service processes data in accordance with its own privacy policy.

5. SMS Messaging

If you opt in to text alerts, we use your mobile number only to send the watchlist alerts you requested, delivered through Twilio. Reply STOP to opt out at any time.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging opt-in data and consent are never shared with third parties, except with the service providers that deliver the messages.

6. Cookies

PlateHog uses the following cookies:

  • Authentication cookies (Clerk): Essential cookies that maintain your login session. These cannot be disabled while using authenticated features.
  • State preference cookie: A first-party cookie that remembers your selected US state for a better search experience.
  • Analytics: Vercel Analytics uses privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics by default. No third-party advertising or tracking cookies are used.
  • Cookie consent preference: Stored in your browser's localStorage to remember your cookie consent choice.

7. Data Retention

  • Account data: Retained for as long as your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion request.
  • Plate search logs: Anonymized search data is retained for up to 12 months for trending/insights computation, then aggregated and purged.
  • Watchlist data: Retained until you remove a plate from your watchlist or delete your account.
  • Payment records: Retained as required by applicable tax and financial regulations (typically 7 years).
  • IP addresses: Raw IP addresses used for rate limiting and geo-detection are not stored beyond the duration of your session.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal data.
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data and account.
  • Opt-out: Unsubscribe from email notifications at any time via your account settings or the unsubscribe link in any email.
  • Data portability: Request an export of your data in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@platehog.com.

9. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

  • Right to know: You may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
  • Right to delete: You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Right to opt-out of sale: We do not sell personal information. No opt-out is necessary.
  • Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights.

To make a CCPA request, email privacy@platehog.com with the subject line "CCPA Request."

10. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including encrypted connections (TLS), secure authentication via Clerk, and access controls on our database systems hosted by Neon. Payment data is processed entirely by Stripe and never touches our servers. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Children's Privacy

PlateHog is not intended for users under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page with a new "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: