Your privacy.

Who to contact

Scout is operated by Trans Global Ltd. For privacy questions, access or correction requests, or an account-deletion request, email [email protected].

Information we collect

• Account details: your email address and its verification status, securely hashed password if you use password sign-in, account plan and sign-in session records. When you connect Google, Microsoft or Facebook, we store the provider name and its unique account identifier. We use the provider’s email, when supplied, to avoid creating duplicate accounts; an email match does not automatically connect accounts.
• Billing records: if you use a subscription, we store payment-provider identifiers linked to your Scout account, the chosen plan, subscription and invoice status, confirmed paid coverage, and relevant refund, dispute and synchronization records. We do not store your full payment-card number or card security code.
• Your workspace: monitor names and filters, alert preferences, saved cars, matching history, notifications and read status.
• Ask Scout: messages you send, assistant replies, proposed settings and usage counts.
• Technical information: request times, IP addresses and service or error logs used to operate and protect the website. Our hosting and network providers also process connection information.
• Support correspondence: information you choose to include when you contact us.

You can read the public pages without an account. A Scout account is needed to use a workspace. You can sign in using email and password or an enabled connected provider. Search preferences are needed to provide matching; using Ask Scout is optional.

How we use it

We use this information to sign you in, maintain your searches and shortlist, match listings, create notifications, provide assistance, manage account access, investigate problems and protect the service from misuse. Authorised administrators may access information when needed for these purposes. Your workspace is not a public profile.

Service providers and overseas processing

Scout currently hosts its application and database with Amazon Web Services in Sydney, Australia. Cloudflare provides website delivery and security. Providers may process technical information outside New Zealand.

Resend delivers account-verification and password-reset emails. It receives the recipient address and message content, including the short-lived account link, to deliver the email and may process this information outside New Zealand. Scout stores hashes of these single-use tokens rather than the original links. These emails are for account access, not marketing.

If you use Ask Scout with an AI provider enabled, your request and relevant monitor settings are sent to that provider to produce a response. Scout supports Anthropic and OpenAI; the active provider depends on the service configuration. Do not include confidential or sensitive personal information in a car-search prompt. The rule-based fallback does not send prompts to an AI provider.

Following a Trade Me listing takes you to a separate service governed by its own terms and privacy practices. We may also disclose information where required by law.

Social sign-in takes you to your chosen provider, which processes the sign-in under its own privacy policy. Scout requests basic sign-in identity and email access, not access to posts, contacts or mail. Provider access tokens are used during sign-in and are not stored in Scout’s database. A temporary essential cookie protects the sign-in request.

Subscription payments

When subscriptions are available, Stripe provides hosted checkout, subscription billing, invoices, payment-method management and tax calculation. Stripe receives the billing and payment information you provide on its pages, such as contact details, billing location and payment details, and processes technical information for payment security and fraud prevention. Scout sends an internal account reference to associate a purchase with your account and receives billing status updates to manage your access and resolve payment problems.

Stripe and its service providers may process information outside New Zealand. Read Stripe’s privacy policy for its handling of payment information. Billing information is used for providing subscriptions, support, reconciliation, fraud prevention and legal recordkeeping. Some billing records may need to be retained after account deletion for those purposes. Contact us about access, correction or deletion requests. Test-mode payment screens are for testing only; their availability does not mean live subscription billing is enabled.

Cookies and browser storage

Scout uses an essential session cookie to keep you signed in. Signing out revokes your session. Your browser also stores preferences such as the number of columns in the results grid. Disabling cookies can prevent sign-in from working.

The public information pages do not load advertising scripts. Free workspaces may show Google AdSense when advertising is enabled. Google and its partners may then use cookies, web beacons, IP addresses or other identifiers to deliver and measure ads, including personalised ads where permitted and consented to. See how Google uses information from partner sites and Google’s ad controls. Any applicable consent choices will be presented when ad serving is enabled. Paid workspaces do not receive Scout’s ad placements.

Storage and retention

Account and workspace information is stored to provide the service while you use it. Technical records and backups support security, troubleshooting and recovery. Retention varies by record type; deleting an item from the app may not immediately remove historical records or backup copies.

Contact us to request account deletion or discuss retained information. We will explain what can be removed and any information that needs to be retained for a legitimate operational or legal reason. We use access controls and other safeguards, but no online service can guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and data deletion

To remove a connected Google, Microsoft or Facebook identity, open Settings in your Scout workspace and choose Disconnect under Sign-in methods. Keep another sign-in method connected so you can access your account. Disconnecting removes that provider link; it does not delete your monitors or your Scout account.

To request deletion of your Scout account and associated provider information, email [email protected] with the subject “Scout data deletion”. Include your account email if you have one and the sign-in provider you use. We will arrange identity verification before deleting data; never send your password or sign-in tokens. You can also remove Scout from your provider’s connected-app settings, but contact us separately to delete the Scout account.

You can edit monitor preferences, pause or delete monitors, manage saved cars and choose whether to use Ask Scout. You can request access to and correction of personal information we hold about you. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

If you have a privacy concern, please contact us first. You can also contact the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Changes to this statement

We will update this page when our practices change and show the updated date. Material changes affecting account holders will be brought to their attention through the service or direct contact.

Contact Scout with any questions.