Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains what information Technician Stars (the "Platform," at technicianstars.com, including the EveryBay shop app) collects, how it's used and shared, and the choices you have. The Platform is operated by A Buyers Choice ("we," "us," or "our") in California. It works together with our Terms of Service.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us.
- Account details: name, email address, phone numbers, mailing address, username, and password (stored only as a one-way scrambled "hash," never in readable form).
- Vehicles and service: year, make, model, VIN, license plate, mileage, photos, and the concerns, diagnoses, estimates, work orders, and invoices for repair work you request or perform.
- Messages: in-app messages between Customers, Shops, and Technicians, including any photos attached to them.
- Technician profiles: headline, bio, certifications, skills and specialties, work history and resume details, driver's license class, endorsements, and expiration month/year (never the license number), photos you choose to add, and documents you upload (career documents are stored encrypted).
- Shop profiles: business name, address, contact details, service area, logo and photos, team roster, and business settings.
- Buy & Sell: your listings, their photos and prices, any private minimum price you set, listings you save, and private interest amounts you set on other people's listings.
- Job applications: when you apply to a job posting, a copy of your resume details at that moment.
- Reports and feedback: page grades, photo reports, and ratings you submit.
Information collected automatically. When you accept the Terms we record the date, your IP address, and your browser type, as proof of acceptance. Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs (such as IP address, pages requested, and time) for security and troubleshooting.
Payment information. Membership plans (and some shop invoices) are paid through Stripe. Your card number is entered on Stripe's own pages and goes straight to Stripe; we never see or store it. We keep only the Stripe reference numbers for your customer record and plan, plus what you bought and when.
DMV Research Requests. When you order one, we keep the VIN and plate you enter, the name the seller gave you (to compare with the California DMV record), your name and email, and the result. The registered owner's name on the DMV record is never shown to you or stored; you're told only whether it matches the name you gave.
Photos. Location data (GPS coordinates) and other hidden camera details are removed from every JPEG photo when you upload it.
Business listings. The Platform lists repair shops, dealerships, fleets and parts stores, including businesses that haven't joined yet ("Not yet registered"). A listing holds only business facts: name, address, phone number, website, and the vehicle makes a dealer sells. They come from employers technicians name on their resumes (the listing never shows who named it), from technicians naming their shop, and from open business datasets: Overture Maps Foundation Places (CDLA Permissive 2.0) and AllThePlaces (CC0), with OpenStreetMap data used under the ODbL where noted. A business can claim its listing, or ask us to correct or remove it, at help@reply.technicianstars.com (or our contact form).
2. How we use it
- To run the Platform: create and secure your account, connect Customers with Shops and Technicians, manage work orders, messages, listings, and job postings.
- To process memberships and payments through Stripe, and to send receipts, renewal notices, and account emails (such as password resets and "create your account" invitations from a Shop that opened a work order for you).
- To link your own accounts together: we compare email addresses and phone numbers so a person's Customer, Technician, and Shop logins can be connected, and we may email you when we find a match.
- To keep the Platform safe: moderate reported content, prevent abuse, and enforce our Terms.
- To meet legal requirements, such as California's rules on keeping repair records.
We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell or rent your personal information to anyone.
3. What other people can see
- Public profiles (technicians and shops) show what you choose to make public. Contact details stay private unless you turn them on.
- Buy & Sell listings are public. Buyers and sellers message each other through masked relay email addresses, so neither side sees the other's real email. A seller sees the names and offer amounts (never contact details) of shoppers who get in line for their listing; other shoppers see only how many people are in line.
- Getting in line without an account: we ask for your name, your email (to send a one-time code and your link), and, if you choose, a phone number. The seller sees your name and amount only. We email you about your place in line and the seller's messages.
- Shops and Technicians you work with see the information they need to do the job.
- Vehicle history (Tier 5 shops): a vehicle's basic service history (which shop, when, mileage, and a plain description of the work) can be seen by another Tier 5 shop, never prices, invoices, or your contact details. See Section 3 of the Terms.
- Dealer websites: a Shop can publish a dealership website through the Platform. What you send through a form on that website (a question, test-drive request, trade-in details, or pre-qualify answers) goes to that dealer by email and in its shop app, so the dealer can contact you about it. Pre-qualify forms never ask for a Social Security number or date of birth.
- Recruiters see your resume copy when you apply, and can choose to review applicants with photos and names hidden. We never ask for your race or ethnicity.
4. Service providers we share information with
We share information only with companies that help us run the Platform, and only what they need:
- Stripe - payments and subscriptions.
- Postmark - sending email and relaying Buy & Sell messages.
- Railway - hosting the Platform and its database in the United States.
- OpenStreetMap - map images and turning a typed address or city into a map location. Your browser sends the address you typed directly to OpenStreetMap when you use a map.
- NHTSA (U.S. Department of Transportation) - when you decode a VIN, your browser sends that VIN to NHTSA's public vehicle database.
- A dealer's inventory listing service - when a dealer imports its vehicles from its inventory service (such as carsforsale.com), vehicle photos on that dealer's website may load directly from that service's servers, which then see your browser's IP address, like any website image. No personal information about you is sent to it.
- BBB - a dealer website's Reviews page can show the dealer's BBB seal, an image that loads from BBB's servers, which then see your browser's IP address, like any website image.
- Squarespace - our domain name registrar (and email forwarding, if used).
We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public, or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of our business (in which case this policy continues to apply).
5. Cookies
All of our cookies are our own. Most only keep you signed in and finish an action you started (for example, returning you to a shop's invite link after you sign in); those are always on because the site can't work without them. Two optional cookies help us count where sign-ups come from - how you first found the site, and the Technician Stars rep whose link you used - and a third remembers that you confirmed your email when getting in line without an account. All three are set only if you choose "OK" on our cookie notice. You can change your choice any time on our Cookies page, which lists every cookie we use. We don't use advertising cookies or third-party analytics trackers, and we don't track you across other websites. Videos use YouTube's privacy-enhanced (no-cookie) player.
6. How long we keep information
We keep your information while your account is open and as long as needed for the purposes above. Photos from sold or removed Buy & Sell listings are archived and deleted automatically 12 months later (or right away, if you choose). Repair records such as work orders and invoices are kept as long as California law requires shops to keep them. Offers made without an account are kept while they're on file and for up to 12 months after you withdraw your last one; the one-time codes expire after 15 minutes. Backup copies are replaced on a rolling basis.
7. Security
The Platform uses encrypted connections (HTTPS), stores passwords only as hashes, encrypts uploaded career documents, and limits each account to its own records. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password and tell us right away if you think your account has been misused.
8. Your choices and rights
- You can view and update most of your information, change what's public, and delete photos from your account pages at any time.
- You can ask us for a copy of your personal information, to correct it, or to delete your account by emailing help@reply.technicianstars.com (or our contact form). We'll respond within 45 days. We may need to keep some records, such as repair records a shop must retain by law, or information needed to resolve a dispute or prevent fraud.
- California residents may request, once a year and free of charge, information about any disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We don't make those disclosures.
- We won't treat you differently for making a privacy request.
9. Children
The Platform is for people 18 and older. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it.
10. Changes to this policy
When this policy changes, we'll post the new version on this page and update the effective date above.
11. Contact
Questions or requests about privacy can be sent to A Buyers Choice at help@reply.technicianstars.com (or our contact form).