Last updated: September 9, 2026
VINvestigators (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website vinvestigators.com. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices regarding that information.
Information We Collect
When you visit vinvestigators.com, we may collect the following types of information:
Usage data. We automatically collect information about how you interact with our site, including your IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring website. This data is collected through cookies and similar technologies.
Contact information. If you use our contact form or email us directly, we collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, and message content. We use this only to respond to your inquiry.
Newsletter signup. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and the details described in the Newsletter section below.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to operate and improve our website, respond to inquiries and correspondence, send the newsletter you asked for, analyze site traffic and usage patterns, and ensure the security of our website.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.
Free VIN Check and Affiliate Links
The Free VIN Check runs entirely in your browser. When you enter a VIN, your browser queries the public databases of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) directly. VINvestigators does not receive, log, or store the VINs you enter; NHTSA’s own privacy policy governs those requests. When you click a history-report link on this site, our link plugin records the click (page, time and IP address) so we can count referrals, and carVertical sets its own cookie on its website to credit the referral; carVertical’s privacy policy applies there.
Newsletter
If you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address, the time of your signup and of your confirmation, and the IP address each came from. That record is our proof of your consent. You subscribe by ticking the consent box on the form and then clicking the confirmation link we email you; we send nothing until you confirm.
Our emails are sent through MailerLite, our email service provider, which stores this information on our behalf. MailerLite records whether an email was opened and which links in it were clicked; MailerLite’s own privacy policy applies to its processing. Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. Unsubscribing stops all sending immediately, and you can ask us at hello@vinvestigators.com to delete your address entirely.
Cookies
Our site uses cookies, small text files stored on your device. Essential cookies are needed for the site to work and for security. Our only other cookies come from Google Analytics 4, which we use to see which guides get read.
If you visit from the European Union, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, analytics cookies are not set until you accept them in the cookie banner, and Google Analytics receives no identifying data before that. You can change your choice at any time on the Cookie Policy page linked in the footer. The banner is provided by the Complianz plugin, which runs on our own server and sends no data elsewhere. Visitors from other countries can also refuse analytics cookies in the same banner or through their browser settings.
Third-Party Services
We use Google Analytics 4 to analyze site traffic. Google may collect information about your use of our site in accordance with its own privacy policy. Our newsletter is sent through MailerLite, as described in the Newsletter section above. Our website is hosted by Hostinger on servers located in the United States, and standard server logs (including IP addresses) are kept there for security and maintenance. Links to external websites, government databases, and third-party tools are governed by those sites’ own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.
Data Retention
We retain contact form submissions for as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry and maintain our records. Newsletter subscription data is kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. Usage data collected through analytics is retained in accordance with our analytics provider’s standard retention periods.
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, request correction or deletion of your personal information, object to or restrict certain processing of your information, and request a copy of your information in a portable format.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@vinvestigators.com.
Children’s Privacy
Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at hello@vinvestigators.com.