Privacy Policy
Last updated July 28, 2026
Smart EV Guides (“we”, “our”, or “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how our mobile application (“the App”) handles information. The App provides emergency response reference guides for electric vehicles and is designed to work offline-first, with optional online AI search.
Usage data we collect
To keep the guides accurate we record how the App is used — chiefly which searches fail to find an answer, because those are the gaps we need to fill. This is our own service; no advertising or third-party analytics is involved.
What these records deliberately cannot do. Search records carry no device identifier — only which department plan they belong to — so we cannot tell which phone or which person made any given search. (In a very small department, records attributed to the plan will naturally describe few people.) We do not record your location, and plate or VIN lookups are never logged at any time. Records are kept for 90 days and then deleted automatically. We designed it this way because our customers are public agencies whose records may be subject to open-records requests.
Data we do not collect
Beyond the usage records described above, the App does not collect, transmit, store, or share personal or sensitive user data. Specifically, we do not access or collect any of the following:
Note: The optional feedback feature may include app version, device model, and OS version in an email draft, but only if you voluntarily choose to send it. Nothing from the feedback feature is collected or transmitted unless you send that email.
Health data disclaimer
The App provides informational reference guides about EV emergency response procedures (such as high-voltage safety and extrication). This is general reference material intended for first responders. The App does not:
- Collect, store, process, or transmit any health, medical, biometric, or fitness data
- Access any device health sensors or health-related APIs (HealthKit, Health Connect, or similar)
- Function as a medical device, diagnostic tool, or health monitoring application
- Provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations
The reference content displayed is static informational text and does not constitute Health Data as defined by Google Play's Data Safety policies.
Locally stored data
The App stores the following on your device only to provide core functionality:
- Search preferences: your most recently selected vehicle model, stored locally.
- Downloaded content: additional vehicle guides downloaded for offline use.
- Your department code and the random install identifier, so you stay signed in.
- Pending usage records: searches made while offline are held on the device and sent once a connection is available, then removed. At most a few hundred are kept.
Your vehicle preferences and downloaded guides never leave your device. The last two items exist to be sent to us as described above; clearing app data or uninstalling deletes all of it, including any records not yet sent.
Feedback feature
The App includes an optional feedback feature that opens your device's default email client. If you choose to send feedback, the draft may include basic diagnostic information (app version, device model, OS version) to help us troubleshoot. This is only shared if you voluntarily send the email. We do not automatically collect or transmit this data.
Data retention and deletion
The usage records described above are kept for 90 days and then deleted automatically. They contain no name, email, location, or contact information, and are not linked to an individual. We retain no other user data on our servers. For locally stored data on your device, you can delete it at any time by:
- Clearing app data: Settings → Apps → Smart EV Guides → Storage → Clear Data.
- Uninstalling the App: removing the App deletes all associated local data.
There is no account creation in this App, and therefore no account data to delete.
Network usage
The App uses an internet connection to download additional vehicle guides not bundled with the initial install, to run online AI search, and to send the usage records described above. Requests carry the random install identifier and, when a department code is entered, that code — so the correct plan is applied. No cookies, advertising identifiers, or cross-site tracking identifiers are used. Searches performed offline are answered entirely on your device; only the resulting usage record is sent later.
Third-party services and SDKs
The App itself contains no third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking SDKs, and we never sell data or share it for advertising. Two optional features do send what you enter to service providers that process it on our behalf:
- Online AI search. When a search cannot be answered from the guides on your device, your query and the relevant guide excerpts are sent to our hosting provider (Cloudflare) and to Anthropic, which generates the answer and returns it. Searches answered from the guides on your device are never sent for processing — only the usage record described above is sent later.
- Plate & VIN lookup. If you look up a license plate or VIN, that value and the state are sent to a commercial vehicle-data provider to identify the vehicle. We do not store the plate or VIN, and these lookups are never written to our usage records.
Both are used only to answer the request you made.
Children's privacy
The App is intended for emergency responders and is not directed to children. It does not collect personal information from any user, including children under 13 — the usage records described above contain no personal information and are not used to build a profile. The App complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar regulations.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the new policy at this URL and update the “Last updated” date above. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.