Free vehicle check
Plain-English privacy
Privacy notice.
What Lemoned processes when you search for a vehicle, why it is needed and what we deliberately do not store.
Who is responsible
Lemoned is responsible for the personal information it decides to collect and use through Lemoned.co.uk. Privacy questions and rights requests can be sent to hello@lemoned.co.uk.
Vehicle searches
When you request a free check, Lemoned uses the registration or VIN to retrieve matching vehicle information and create an expiring result link.
For short result links, Lemoned stores a private mapping between the link code and an encrypted lookup identifier, with its expiry time. This mapping does not contain a saved report or email address. Report addresses include the registration and a random report ID, but not the VIN. Anyone with a working link can reopen it; the address and registration may remain in browser history, shared messages or technical logs.
To help you repeat a search, the registration box remembers up to three recent registrations in this browser’s local storage. This list contains registrations and search times, not emails, VINs or report contents, and does not sync to other devices or an application database. Entries older than 30 days are removed the next time the field is used. Choose “Clear history” in the registration box, or clear this site’s browser data, to remove them sooner. Anyone using the same browser profile may see the list.
This browser-held recent-search list is separate from the short-link mappings stored by Lemoned.
Choosing “Save” at the bottom of a report stores a dated copy in this browser, including its registration, available vehicle facts, MOT records, mileage and source-check times. Up to three copies are retained for 30 days from saving, with expired copies removed when the shortlist is next opened. They do not update or sync to other devices or site addresses. The original expiring report-link path is also retained; it does not extend access after expiry. VINs and raw provider responses are not included in these saved copies.
Use the bin button in Saved cars to delete a copy. Clearing recent searches does not clear saved reports; clearing this site’s browser data clears both. Anyone using the same browser profile may see your saved cars. Downloaded files are held wherever you save them and remain until you delete them yourself.
The optional Lemoned Checklist stores your item statuses, condition ratings, notes, selected replacement quantities/axles and current stage against the registration in this browser only. Repair allowances are calculated in your browser. These answers are not sent to Lemoned or included in shared or downloaded reports. They expire 30 days after the last update, with expiry applied when that checklist is next opened. Choose “Reset” in the checklist to remove its saved checks and notes, or clear this site’s browser data. Anyone using the same browser profile may see these notes; avoid entering sensitive personal information. Example checklists are stored separately from real vehicle checklists.
Information returned by sources
Free checks use DVLA for vehicle and licensing details and DVSA for MOT history. A VIN search uses DVSA to resolve the current registration before querying DVLA. Source responses are processed to produce the report; this lookup does not save a vehicle report to our order database. The report records which source was checked, when it was checked and whether a field was returned. “No record found”, “not returned” and “temporarily unavailable” have different meanings and are labelled separately.
To reduce repeat requests, successful source results can be reused from bounded server memory for up to two minutes. The report keeps the original source-check times and identifies reuse. This cache is not written to a database or the browser; expired entries are removed on the next cache lookup or when that server worker ends.
Paid provenance, insurance, finance, keeper and theft checks are not currently performed. They will remain unavailable until the relevant supplier access, permitted use and retention conditions are agreed.
Technical and security information
The hosting service and its infrastructure providers may process limited technical information needed to deliver and protect the site, such as IP address, browser information, request time and security events. Lemoned uses this information for security, fault diagnosis and abuse prevention.
To enforce shared usage limits, Lemoned stores a keyed, non-readable fingerprint of the connection address together with request counts and expiry times. These protection records do not contain vehicle details or raw IP addresses. Expired counters are eligible for automatic hourly removal after a one-day retention buffer; unusually large cleanup backlogs may take longer. Counters may remain active while a connection continues to use the service.
When browser verification is enabled, Cloudflare Turnstile checks the browser before protected lookups. A successful check sets a secure, HTTP-only, one-hour cookie tied to the connection. It does not bypass usage limits. Browser-verification information is used for abuse prevention, not advertising.
The vehicle-search endpoint applies validation, same-origin checks, an automated-submission trap and short-window request limits. Lemoned does not use this technical information for advertising profiles.
When service-health collection is enabled, anonymous hourly totals record report outcomes, server assembly times and provider response counts. These totals contain no registration, VIN, report link, IP address or visitor identifier. They are used to assess reliability, not track visitors, and are automatically removed from the active database after 30 days.
Payments, accounts and email
Lemoned does not currently offer paid checkout, customer accounts or report-by-email delivery. Before those features launch, this notice will identify the payment and email providers, the information retained, the lawful basis and the retention period. Card details will be handled by the payment provider rather than stored by Lemoned.
Retention and your rights
Free result links expire seven days after their original creation. Opening a link again does not extend its expiry: it prepares the report from source data, which may include the short-lived reuse described above, rather than retrieving a saved report.
An hourly cleanup job removes expired link mappings from the active database. If a cleanup is delayed, expired links still cannot be used.
Expiry prevents access through the link; it does not erase browser history or any copies you have saved. Hosting logs and any supplier backups have separate retention arrangements.
Sharing is optional. The Share action uses your device’s sharing service or copies the live link; anyone receiving it can access the report until expiry. A download is a separate, dated copy and does not update when the link is reopened.
You may ask about personal information Lemoned holds, request correction or deletion where applicable, object to certain uses or complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Contact us first so we can investigate promptly.
Cookies
Lemoned does not use advertising cookies. The private administration area uses the hosting platform’s sign-in system for authentication. The optional Google button described below loads only with your permission.
Optional usage measurement is off unless you allow it below and collection is enabled by Lemoned. It counts page categories and actions such as saving or comparing, plus largest-content paint times. The requests contain only an allowlisted event and a bounded duration; they omit page URLs and identifiers. Hourly aggregates use the service-health store and its 30-day retention. Security checks may use the connection fingerprint described above. These counts are not unique visitors, full conversion journeys or a complete Core Web Vitals assessment.
Off by default. No registrations, VINs, report links, advertising IDs or cross-site profiles are sent. You can switch this off at any time.