Data controller
CarMargin is operated under the trading name "CarMargin" by the team behind carmargin.co.uk. [Registered entity name and UK address to be added before paid launch. ICO registration: pending.] Contact: hello@carmargin.co.uk.
The architectural promise
Your Copart photos are never written to disk. Anywhere. By design.
Photos travel from Copart's CDN through to the AI in memory only and are discarded the moment the analysis returns. The set of photo URLs is hashed for cache invalidation; the binaries are never persisted by us. VRNs are stored on the lot record only and are never linked to a user identity in any database.
What we collect
- Account data. Email address and (optionally) Google profile basics if you sign in with Google. Used to authenticate you.
- Settings. Your target ROI, transport budget, max-bid budget, excluded title types, preferred makes. Stored against your account so the analysis is tuned to your preferences.
- Watchlist URLs. Copart UK lot URLs you save for later. Per-user, never aggregated.
- Lot notes. Free-text notes you write against a lot, with the identity snapshot frozen at write time (make, model, year, mileage, hero photo URL). Per-user, never aggregated.
- Chat threads. Conversations you have with the AI on a lot, including AI replies and source citations. Per-user, never aggregated.
- Billing data (when paid tiers ship). Handled by our payment processor; we do not see card numbers.
What we don't collect
- Your Copart photos. Photos pass through to the AI in memory only and are discarded. Image bytes are never written to any database.
- Your Copart bidding history. The extension only reads the public lot data your session is already viewing.
- Your Copart account credentials. CarMargin never sees them.
- VRNs against your account. Vehicle registration numbers are stored on the lot record only, never linked to user identity.
- Telemetry on Copart pages. The extension tracks no analytics on Copart UK pages themselves.
Where data goes
Lot photos and listing data are sent to Anthropic for AI analysis. Anthropic processes the request and returns the structured analysis; the photos are not retained by us, and Anthropic's data-handling commitments apply for their portion. MOT data is fetched from the DVSA via its public API. Vehicle data is fetched from the DVLA via its public API. Both are read-only queries under their public-API terms.
Data retention
- Lot analyses are deleted within 24 hours of the auction ending.
- Your account, settings, watchlist, lot notes, and chat threads survive until you delete your account.
- You can request export or deletion of your account data at any time by emailing hello@carmargin.co.uk.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct, export, and delete the personal data we hold about you. You can lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office. Email hello@carmargin.co.uk for any of the above.
Contact
Questions or concerns: hello@carmargin.co.uk.