1. Introduction

License Plate Reports ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and use our services.

Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

When you use our platform, you may provide the following information:

• License Plate Reports: License plate numbers, state/location, violation type, vehicle information, and descriptions
• Comments: Text comments on reports, author name (optional)
• Upvotes: Reports you've upvoted (tracked by IP address)

2.2 Information Automatically Collected

When you access our site, we automatically collect certain information:

Data Type	What We Collect	Why We Collect It
IP Address	Your device's IP address	Spam prevention, rate limiting, abuse detection
User Agent	Browser and device information	Bot detection, spam filtering
Timestamps	Date and time of reports/comments	Display chronological data, detect patterns
Interaction Data	Upvotes, comments, page views	Platform functionality, engagement metrics

2.3 Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use minimal tracking technologies:

• Session Cookies: For admin authentication only
• No Third-Party Cookies: We do not use advertising or analytics cookies
• No Cross-Site Tracking: We do not track your activity on other websites

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

3.1 To Provide and Maintain Our Service

• Display submitted reports to other users
• Process upvotes and comments
• Calculate and display statistics
• Enable search and filtering functionality

3.2 To Prevent Abuse and Ensure Security

• Detect and prevent spam submissions
• Identify and block abusive users
• Enforce rate limits (3 reports per hour per IP)
• Flag potentially harmful content
• Automatically ban users who attempt script injection

3.3 To Improve Our Service

• Analyze usage patterns and trends
• Identify popular features
• Improve user experience
• Fix bugs and technical issues

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 Public Information

4.2 We Do NOT Share:

• IP Addresses: Never displayed publicly or shared with third parties (except law enforcement if legally required)
• User Agent Information: Kept private for security purposes only
• Upvote History: Not publicly visible (tracked by IP for duplicate prevention)

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to:

• Valid legal process (subpoena, court order, search warrant)
• Law enforcement requests for investigations
• Protection against legal liability
• Enforcement of our terms of service

4.4 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

5. Data Retention

5.1 How Long We Keep Your Data

• Reports: Stored indefinitely unless removed by admin or content moderation
• Comments: Stored indefinitely unless deleted
• IP Addresses: Stored with reports/comments for security purposes
• Banned IPs: Stored until ban expiration or manual removal
• Upvotes: Stored indefinitely to prevent duplicate voting

5.2 Data Deletion

You may request deletion of your submitted content by contacting us. We will review requests on a case-by-case basis. Note that:

• We may retain data if required by law
• We may retain data to prevent fraud or abuse
• IP addresses may be retained for security purposes

6. Your Rights and Choices

6.1 Access and Correction

Because submissions are anonymous (no user accounts), we cannot directly provide access to "your" data. However, all public data is visible on the site.

6.2 Content Removal

You may request removal of:

• Reports you believe are inaccurate or violate our terms
• Comments that are abusive or harassing
• Data that violates your privacy rights

Contact us with specific URLs and reasons for removal requests.

6.3 Do Not Track

We do not use tracking technologies that respond to "Do Not Track" signals because we don't track users across websites.

7. Security

7.1 How We Protect Your Information

• Encryption: SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission
• Database Security: Prepared statements to prevent SQL injection
• Input Sanitization: All user input is sanitized to prevent XSS attacks
• Rate Limiting: Protection against spam and abuse
• IP Banning: Automatic and manual blocking of abusive IPs
• Admin Authentication: Password-protected admin panel

7.2 Security Measures We Implement

• Honeypot fields to catch bots
• Timestamp validation to prevent instant submissions
• Spam score calculation for comments
• HTML/script injection blocking
• Pattern-based abuse detection

8. Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

9. Third-Party Links

Our site may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

10. International Users

This site is operated in the United States. If you are accessing the site from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt-out of sale of personal information (we don't sell data)
• Non-discrimination for exercising your rights

12. European Users (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain data protection rights under GDPR:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of your data
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data
• Right to Restrict Processing: Request limitation of how we use your data
• Right to Data Portability: Request transfer of your data
• Right to Object: Object to our processing of your data

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

We process your information based on:

• Consent: You voluntarily submit reports and comments
• Legitimate Interests: Preventing spam, abuse, and fraud
• Legal Obligations: Compliance with applicable laws

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by:

• Posting the new privacy policy on this page
• Updating the "Last Updated" date

Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us through:

• The admin dashboard contact form
• The contact information provided on the site

15. Summary of Key Points

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