Privacy Policy — WA VIN Lane Alert

Effective date: July 20, 2026  ·  Last updated: July 20, 2026

WA VIN Lane Alert (“the app,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is published by Ditch Hook Rally (operated by DITCH-HOOK LLC). This policy explains what data the app collects, why, who it is shared with, and the choices you have.

The short version: the app has no accounts and no login. We do not collect your name, email, phone number, or address. We do not sell your data. We use a small amount of data only to deliver appointment alerts and to keep availability information fresh.

What the app does

WA VIN Lane Alert monitors the public Washington State Patrol (WSP) VIN‑inspection appointment calendars (the public SuperSaaS scheduling pages for WSP VIN lanes) and sends a push notification the moment an appointment slot opens, so you can try to book a hard‑to‑find inspection. The app is read‑only — it never books, holds, cancels, or changes any appointment on your behalf.

Information we collect

We collect only what is needed to run the alert service:

• Device notification token. When you enable alerts, the app registers a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) push token. This is a device identifier that lets us deliver notifications to your device. It is not tied to your name or any account.
• Your watch preferences. The specific VIN lanes and appointment type you choose to watch. We store these so the server knows which openings to notify you about.
• Subscription status. Whether you have an active “VIN Alerts Pro” subscription. Subscriptions are processed through Google Play Billing. Google handles the actual payment — the app never sees or stores your card, bank, or other payment information. We only receive an entitlement flag indicating whether your subscription is active.
• Availability data from the contribution feature (see below). Non‑personal, computed appointment‑availability information (lane, slot time, and how long a slot stayed open).

We do not collect: your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, precise location, contacts, photos, or any government or vehicle identification number. There is no account and no sign‑in.

The “Help keep availability fresh” contribution feature

To keep appointment availability accurate for everyone, the app includes an optional contribution feature. It is on by default, and you can turn it off at any time in Settings.

When it is on, your device fetches the same public WSP/SuperSaaS schedule pages for the lanes you already watch, computes which slots are open, and reports that computed availability (the lane, the open slot times, and page‑freshness information) to our server. The report is tagged with your device notification token so the server knows it came from a registered device — it contains no personal data. This helps the whole community see fresh openings even when our central checker is rate‑limited.

This feature is strictly read‑only — it only reads public pages and never books, changes, or interacts with any appointment. It uses some network data and battery on your device. If you turn it off, the app still works and still shows availability from our server; your device just stops contributing.

How we use information

We use the data above only to:

• deliver push notifications when a watched lane has an opening;
• remember which lanes and appointment type you want to watch;
• confirm your subscription entitlement so alerts can be enabled;
• keep appointment‑availability information fresh and accurate for users; and
• understand aggregate, anonymized appointment‑availability patterns (for example, how often and how long slots stay open) to improve the service.

We do not use your data for advertising, and we do not build personal profiles about you.

How information is stored and secured

Our backend runs on Cloudflare. A Cloudflare Worker stores a mapping of {device notification token → the lanes you watch, and your subscription entitlement} in Cloudflare's key‑value storage, and stores anonymized appointment‑availability data (lane, time, and how long a slot stayed open — no personal data) in a database. Data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) in transit.

Who we share information with

We do not sell your data and we do not share it with advertisers. We use the following service providers (“processors”) to operate the app, and share only what each needs to perform its function:

• Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) — delivers push notifications; processes your device notification token.
• Google Play Billing — processes subscription purchases and renewals; Google, not us, handles your payment information.
• Cloudflare — hosts our backend and stores the data described above.
• Zyte — a server‑side proxy service we use to fetch the public WSP/SuperSaaS schedule pages.

We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, or security of our users, the public, or the app.

Data source. Appointment availability comes from the WSP VIN‑inspection scheduling system, which is publicly accessible information.

Data retention

We keep your watch preferences and subscription entitlement for as long as your device is registered for alerts. If you turn off the contribution feature, uninstall the app, or ask us to delete your data, we remove your device's stored preferences and token. Anonymized availability data (which contains no personal information and cannot be tied to you) may be retained to keep the service accurate and to study appointment‑availability patterns.

Your choices and controls

• Turn off contribution. Use the Settings toggle at any time.
• Stop alerts. Disable notifications or uninstall the app; uninstalling stops new data collection from your device.
• Manage your subscription. Manage or cancel anytime in the Google Play Store (Subscriptions).
• Request deletion. Email us at info@ditchhook.com and we will delete your device's stored preferences and token. Because there is no account, please send your request from, or clearly identify, the device you want removed so we can locate it.

Children's privacy

WA VIN Lane Alert is intended for adults arranging vehicle inspections. It is not directed to children and we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13 (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction). If you believe a child has provided data through the app, contact us and we will remove it.

International users

The app is intended for use in Washington State, USA. If you use it from elsewhere, understand that your information will be processed on servers operated by our providers, which may be located in the United States.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide notice in the app. Continued use of the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Questions or deletion requests:
Ditch Hook Rally (DITCH-HOOK LLC)
Email: info@ditchhook.com