Privacy policy

You can browse, search and compare vehicles without an account. We don't use advertising, analytics or tracking cookies. If you create an account, post a comment or send us feedback, we store only what that feature needs. You can delete your account and everything tied to it at any time from Account settings.

Ridebench is a non-commercial hobby project run by Jonas Hagel, a private individual based in Denmark ("we", "us"). We are the controller of the personal data described below. Contact us about anything in this policy at privacy@ridebench.com.

• Anonymous vehicle page views. When a vehicle page loads we record which vehicle was viewed and when. Nothing about you is stored with it: no account, IP address, cookie or device identifier. These counts power the "Trending now" and "Top 10" sections. Because they aren't personal data, no legal basis is needed.
• Your account (optional). If you sign up with an email and password, we store your email address, the name you give us (optional), and a one-way hash of your password. We never store the password itself. If you sign in with Google, Facebook or Apple, we receive and store your name, email address, profile photo link, and an identifier for your account with that provider. We do not keep that provider's access tokens. We use this to let you sign in and to show your name on your comments. Legal basis: performing our contract with you (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)).
• Comments (optional). Comments you post on a vehicle page are public. They're shown with the name on your account, or "Ridebench user" if you haven't given one. Your email address is never shown. We store the comment, the vehicle, the time and a link to your account. Legal basis: contract (Art. 6(1)(b)).
• Feedback (optional). When you send feedback we store your message and when you sent it. We only store an email address if you enter one, or if you are signed in and choose to include your account email, so that we can reply. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in improving the site (Art. 6(1)(f)), and your consent for the email address (Art. 6(1)(a)).
• Security and abuse prevention. Your IP address is used in memory to rate-limit requests, for example to stop feedback spam. It is not written to our database. Our web server keeps no access log, but application logs on the server may briefly contain IP addresses. They are rotated automatically and kept only for a short period. Legal basis: legitimate interest in keeping the site secure (Art. 6(1)(f)).
• Error reports. If the site hits an unexpected error, technical details can be sent to our own error-tracking service (GlitchTip) so we can fix it. This is only active when we have switched it on. These include the page, the error, and your browser and operating system. We configure it not to attach personal data such as your IP address, cookies or account details. Legal basis: legitimate interest in running a working site (Art. 6(1)(f)).

We don't sell your data, share it with advertisers, profile you, or make automated decisions about you.

We only use strictly necessary cookies (to keep you signed in and protect sign-in forms) and local storage (to remember your theme choice and that you dismissed the cookie notice). None of them are used for tracking. See the cookie policy for the full list.

• Sign-in providers. If you choose "Continue with Google / Facebook / Apple", you are sent to that provider, and it handles your sign-in under its own privacy policy. We only receive the profile details listed above.
• Wikimedia Commons. Some vehicle photos load directly from Wikimedia Commons, and OAuth profile photos load from your sign-in provider. Your browser therefore sends them your IP address and standard browser information, as with any web request. Vehicle photos are loaded without cookies or a referrer, so Wikimedia can't track you with cookies or see which page you were on.
• Hosting. The site and its database run on a server we rent from UpCloud in Copenhagen, Denmark, which acts as our processor under its data processing terms. Your data stays in the EU. Fonts are served from our own server, not from Google Fonts.

• Account data and comments: until you delete your account, or ask us to remove a specific comment.
• Backups: we keep server backups of the database, which contain account emails and password hashes. Daily backups are kept for 14 days and weekly ones for 8 weeks. Data you delete disappears from the live site immediately and from backups when the last backup holding it expires, at most about 8 weeks later.
• Feedback: only as long as we need it to deal with what you raised.
• Error reports: deleted automatically by our error tracker (after 90 days, its default).
• Anonymous view counts: indefinitely, since they identify no one.

You have the right to access, correct, export or delete your personal data. You can also object to or restrict how we use it, and withdraw consent at any time. You can delete your account yourself from Account settings. This permanently removes your account, your comments and any feedback linked to it from the live site (backups expire as described above). For any other request, including feedback you sent without an account, email privacy@ridebench.com. We'll reply within one month. You can also complain to the Danish Data Protection Agency (Datatilsynet), or to the data protection authority in the EU country where you live.

You can browse Ridebench at any age, and browsing collects no personal data. Accounts, comments and the option to include an email with feedback are only for people aged 16 or over. If we learn that an account belongs to someone younger, we will delete it. If you think a child has given us personal data, contact us.

If what we collect or how we use it changes, we'll update this page and the date above.