Privacy — SCA website and Smart Control OBD2

Controller and scope

Updated: 20 October 2026. The controller is Nicola Santini. Smart Control Automotive (SCA) is the project name, not a statement that a company has been incorporated. Contact for privacy, access, correction and deletion: staff@smartcontrol-4me.com.

This notice distinguishes the website, the Smart Control OBD2 app and support. No SCA account is needed to browse or use the app. New mailboxes on smartcontrol-obd2.com are not operational and do not replace this contact.

Website navigation and technologies

This is a static website. Code search, Observatory filters and pagination download public files from the same website; they do not send your search, vehicle profile or vehicle data to a diagnostic service. The worksheet in the guides is copied to your clipboard only when you request it: the website does not receive your answers.

With your consent, we use Google Analytics to understand which pages are viewed. Google receives technical browsing data and uses cookies with pseudonymous identifiers for up to 30 days. No data is sent to Google Analytics before consent. You can refuse and keep using the site, or withdraw your choice at any time via Analytics and privacy. Your choice is stored in this browser for 6 months. We do not use these statistics for advertising or to identify visitors by name.

Cloudflare delivers and protects the pages, processing technical information such as IP address, requested URL, date/time, browser, operating system and connection metadata. This supports page delivery, availability and security, based on the controller’s legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). Hosting security services may use their own technical technologies when necessary; these do not authorise SCA profiling. The static site does not maintain an application visitor database; provider logs follow service settings and terms.

When you choose to open Google Play, YouTube or a diagnostic source, you access another service with its own processing and notices.

App: local records, profiles and exports

Vehicle profiles, OBD readings, DTCs, trips, routes and settings are managed primarily on your device. Without a real profile, stopwatch measurements remain in memory and do not create history. Available parameters depend on the vehicle and adapter; a missing code does not certify the vehicle’s condition.

These records support the functions you request (GDPR Article 6(1)(b), where applicable to the service). Local processing does not automatically upload the entire archive to SCA servers. Maps, SDKs, Android services and Google Play have separate communications described below. Local-first does not mean all data always stays on the phone.

Exports, shared logs and files, and backups are separate copies in the destinations you select or configure on your device. Check contents and recipients before sharing: logs and free text can contain personal information or coordinates.

Location and background sessions

Location supports trip and vehicle features when “Location access” is enabled in the app and Android grants the required permission. Without authorisation, this feature does not acquire a new location. Depending on Android, permission may cover use while the app is open or background use; the user chooses.

A user-started session can continue through a foreground service with a visible notification. “Disconnect” ends the session. Android permission is a technical access choice, not general consent to every processing activity. Optional location features are user-requested; any required privacy consent must remain distinct and revocable. Turning off the app option does not delete saved locations or revoke Android permission: manage it in Android Settings → Apps → SC OBD2 → Permissions.

Maps and geocoding: candidate 1069 and earlier versions

Candidate 1069 uses OpenStreetMap road-map tiles. The provider can receive IP address, User-Agent and tile-area references, potentially revealing the viewed area. Address lookup can use the device Geocoder and external Photon/Komoot service, disclosing coordinates, language and network metadata to the provider.

In 1069, Esri satellite imagery, the SCA Nominatim proxy and cloud submissions to SCA support are suspended. We do not present them as available, nor infer that all external communications stop. Earlier versions may contact Esri and public Nominatim as well as Photon and the device Geocoder, depending on the build and function. This page does not alter installed apps.

Functional requests provide the requested feature within necessary limits; provider notices and device location choices also apply.

App SDKs: analytics, errors and notifications

Firebase Analytics collects usage events, sessions and app-instance identifiers; depending on SDKs and settings, it can process technical information, approximate location derived from IP and advertising identifiers when available. Crashlytics processes errors, stack traces, device information and installation identifiers. Purchase events can include product and price, not full payment-card details.

Candidate 1069 initialises Analytics and Crashlytics at startup and has no general SDK collection switch. This collection is not described as anonymous or dependent on support consent. Website theme preferences and GPS permission do not disable these SDKs.

This notice does not itself obtain any prior consent required for non-essential usage analytics and identifiers. The legal basis and SDK choices must match actual collection. Describing the processing here does not change collection in installed apps.

Firebase Cloud Messaging manages notification tokens and identifiers. An installed SDK does not prove a report was submitted: SCA support submission is suspended in 1069. Firebase App Check with Play Integrity is provided to protect support requests, but that path is stopped by the suspension. This does not establish that FCM and every SDK are disabled.

Google Play, purchases and licenses

Google Play handles distribution, payments and purchase rights. The app queries entitlements and technical information needed to recognise a license; Billing does not give SCA full payment-card details. Processing supports the purchase and purchased functions (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)), relevant legal duties (Article 6(1)(c)) and proportionate abuse prevention (Article 6(1)(f)).

Google also processes information under its own terms and notices. Local checks for historical companion packages do not by themselves establish transmission of a complete installed-app inventory. License and activation instructions.

Email support and any existing backend records

You can contact staff@smartcontrol-4me.com and voluntarily attach an exported report. Your email address, message, attachments and replies support your request and support relationship (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)); security, legal claims and applicable duties can justify limited additional processing (Articles 6(1)(f) and 6(1)(c)). Aruba provides the email service. Do not send passwords, confidential promotional codes, case credentials or your entire database.

1069 does not submit new reports to the SCA backend. Previous pilot cases or existing records are separate: the existing system uses Cloudflare Workers and D1, with restricted authorised-staff access and private case credentials. Authorised analysis does not make reports public or authorise advertising or model training.

The backend policy sets case expiry at 90 days after receipt, anti-abuse counters up to 2 days and asynchronous deletion. This is not confirmation that every existing record has actually been deleted. Authorised local copies, email and backups are managed separately. A privacy request allows us to identify existing copies and applicable deletion. We do not promise unverified fixed periods for email, hosting logs or backups.

Observatory: sources, qualification and minimisation

The Observatory contains summaries and selected data from public sources and materials with provenance and reuse terms attributed on the pages. It distinguishes unverified real reports, documented cases, verified cases and synthetic examples. Simulations are separate from testimony; counts do not measure failure probability. Unverified records are neither diagnostic certification nor a diagnosis of your vehicle.

For NHTSA complaints, exports contain make, model where appropriate, year, available dates, the source ODI reference, system areas, symptom keywords and mentioned DTCs. They do not reproduce original narratives, driver names, contact details, VINs, registration plates or precise locations. Ambiguous labels are generalised. Public authors and bibliographic references may be credited; they are not represented as vehicle owners.

An ODI reference links back to a public source: minimisation does not guarantee absolute anonymity or authorise republication of personal information found there. Any residual personal information relies on the legitimate interest in technical information and documentation (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)), balanced against affected individuals’ rights. Telemetra dossiers, proprietary procedures and private archives are not published.

To flag personal information or request correction, objection or removal, email the privacy contact with the page URL and case reference, without unnecessary additional personal information. We assess restricting publication during review. Consultability does not automatically add insufficient pages to the sitemap.

Retention and recipients

Local information stays on your device until deletion or according to app settings. User-selected exports and backups remain in their folders and services until removed. Support email is kept for as long as necessary to handle the request and relevant duties or disputes; automatic mailbox deletion has not been verified.

Public pages remain available while relevant and lawfully reusable, with corrections or removal when needed. Hosting technical data and SDK data follow the respective settings and policies: there is no single shared period. Firebase documentation states that Crashlytics retains data for 90 days before starting removal from live and backup systems. Analytics retention depends on the property and requires verification of its settings. Stopping collection does not retroactively delete retained data.

The controller and authorised collaborators access only information needed for their tasks. Cloudflare and Aruba provide technical services within the relevant scope. Google/Firebase roles and agreements vary by service, while Google Play also acts for its own purposes. We do not claim verification of undocumented agreements or settings.

Providers, transfers and linked notices

Services may process information outside the European Economic Area. Applicable safeguards depend on the contract and recipient: where relevant, adequacy decisions, valid Data Privacy Framework participation, or Standard Contractual Clauses and supplementary measures. Ask the privacy contact about applicable safeguards. We do not promise that all processing remains in Europe.

Provider information: Cloudflare and its DPA; Aruba; Firebase; Google; OpenStreetMap Foundation; Komoot; Esri for earlier versions using it.

Your rights and practical deletion procedure

You can exercise access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability where applicable and objection under GDPR Articles 15–22. Where required, consent may be withdrawn without affecting prior lawful processing. No automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects are declared. You can complain to the Italian Data Protection Authority or your competent authority.

1. Phone: delete profiles or trips with the app’s available controls. To remove all local information: Android Settings → Apps → SC OBD2 → Storage → Clear data. This removes local records and settings; first retain only what you want to keep.
2. Exports and backups: remove copies separately from services or recipients where you stored or shared them.
3. Email, previous cases and provider data: contact us with the data type, approximate period and case reference or page URL, when available. Do not send passwords or identity documents unless requested with a reason. You can contact us even without the private case credential.

We verify only what is necessary to identify the request, locate associable records, handle copies under our control and forward relevant requests to providers. We explain the outcome, identification limits and any necessary remaining retention. An email address does not automatically identify pseudonymous SDK records.

We respond without undue delay, normally within one month of receipt. When legally permitted, this can be extended by two further months, with reasons communicated within the first month. Clearing Android data or uninstalling does not automatically delete email, backend records or data already sent to SDKs.

Send a privacy request.