Privacy Policy

HOURCAR appreciates the trust our members place in us. We are committed to protecting our members’ private, personal information. This privacy policy describes how we collect, use, disclose and otherwise process your personal information in connection with your use of HOURCAR, related mobile sites and applications, as well as when you join HOURCAR and use our services.

HOURCAR operates both the HOURCAR service using vehicles marked “HOURCAR,” and the Evie Carshare service using vehicles marked “Evie Carshare.” Hereinafter, the HOURCAR and Evie Carshare services are collectively referred to as “the HOURCAR Service,” and HOURCAR and Evie Carshare vehicles are collectively referred to as “HOURCAR Vehicles.”

What Personal Information We Collect and How We Use It

The principal purposes for which we collect and store your personal and financial information are to process your application, allow you to use the HOURCAR Service, authorize payment, bill you, respond to your inquiries, improve and communicate with you about our products and services, and maintain your account with us.

HOURCAR collects information that you voluntarily submit to us, which could include your name, email address, postal address, telephone number, or a picture of you or identifying documents. This also includes information in your profile or information you provide to us via an email, text or similar message, telephone call, or by other means. Your telephone calls and other communications with us are usually recorded or monitored for quality control, training and similar purposes. By using these communication methods, you are consenting to receiving information via these methods and the recording or monitoring of your calls and communications with HOURCAR. We use this information to create your account, provide the HOURCAR Service, and communicate with you. From time to time, we may send marketing or other communications. If you do not wish to receive marketing communications, click “update your preferences” or “unsubscribe” at the bottom of the email, or request that an ad not be shown to you on a social platform. If during a trip you connect or pair your mobile device with the HOURCAR vehicle (for instance via Bluetooth or USB port), please unpair your device and delete any personal data stored on the vehicle’s infotainment system.

If you apply to join HOURCAR, we collect information such as personal and financial information as you proceed through the stages of our application process, membership agreement and reservation process. In addition to your name and contact information, we will also collect and retain a photo or scan of your driver’s license, your driver’s license number and the jurisdiction in which you are licensed, credit card or other payment information, a photo, and other identifying information. In certain cases, such as if you have a driver’s license issued outside the United States, we may request and retain a photo or scan of your driver’s license, driving history, or other documents needed for verification of eligibility for HOURCAR. We may also collect information about you such as your driving record from you, from regulatory bodies where you live, or from other third-party sources. We use this information to process your application, determine your eligibility to use our services, verify your identity, detect and deter fraud, theft, or abuse of our service, comply with legal and record keeping requirements, process your payments, and other purposes.

If you join HOURCAR and use the HOURCAR Service, we collect information about how you use our sites (including but not limited to the HOURCAR and Evie Carshare websites, HOURCAR and Evie Carshare mobile apps, and any third-party sites used for accessing your HOURCAR member account; collectively, the “Sites”), such as your searches for vehicles, reservations (dates, times, locations, etc.) and your use of the HOURCAR Service (return time, mileage, accidents, etc.). We may also collect precise location information if you enable location-based services on your mobile device. We use this information to provide and optimize services for you, including for example, billing you, responding to your inquiries, providing and improving our products and services, maintaining your account with us, personalizing your experience (e.g., by understanding your preferences), and providing personalized content and promotional offers.

For safety and security purposes, HOURCAR vehicles are equipped with a digital in-car video/audio monitoring and recording system. Video and audio monitoring and recordings under this Policy are designed and operated in a manner that minimizes privacy intrusion to the extent necessary to achieve HOURCAR’s lawful purposes. Video/audio monitoring and recordings will be used to protect the security of HOURCAR’s property, the safety of HOURCAR users and passengers, and for law enforcement purposes.

Video monitoring may include front and rear facing cameras in addition to the interior of the vehicle. Video and audio monitoring is activated while the vehicle is in use. Audio and video recordings are automatically triggered upon a safety event (for example, a vehicle collision, airbag deployment or other indication of unsafe driving conditions) or if an occupant of the vehicle selects an option to initiate audio recording.

Recordings triggered upon a safety event are retained for one year. Recordings are maintained by a third party in a secure manner and made available to approved HOURCAR personnel. After one year recordings are automatically deleted unless otherwise needed in a criminal investigation, judicial proceeding, or insurance adjustment process

When you visit our Sites or use the HOURCAR Service, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us through a computer or mobile device, we and our third-party partners automatically collect information about how you access and use the Sites and information about the device you use. We typically collect this information through a variety of tracking technologies, including cookies, Flash objects, web beacons, embedded scripts, location-identifying technologies, and similar technology (collectively, “tracking technologies”) and we may use third-party services or technologies to collect this information. Information we collect automatically about you may be combined with other personal information we collect directly from you or from other sources.

Social Media Advertising. We may also use advertising platforms provided by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), Twitter and other social media sites to promote interest-based advertisements to you and to measure how users interact with those advertisements. We may do this using web tracking tools or by sharing certain information (such as hashed email lists) with these platforms for this purpose.

These advertisements are governed by the privacy policies of the social media companies that provide them. If you do not want to receive targeted ads on your social networks, you may adjust your advertising preferences through your settings on those networks. You may learn more about advertising preferences by clicking on the following links:

Facebook’s advertising privacy policies: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/

Instagram’s advertising privacy policies: https://help.instagram.com/196883487377501

Twitter tailored ads: https://help.twitter.com/en/safety-and-security/privacy-controls- for-tailored-ads

We may use similar advertising programs for other social media sites. Please note that these links are provided for your convenience only and we do not control the content or features that may be available on these third-party services.

Social Sharing and Links. Our website includes social media features, such as the Facebook Like button and widgets, such as the Share This button or interactive mini-programs that run on our Sites. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our Sites, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Sites. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy notice of the company providing it.

HOURCAR Vehicles are equipped with vehicle tracking and anti-theft technology that uses Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS is a network of satellites that allows us to determine the location (latitude and longitude) of HOURCAR Vehicles during your trip. Additionally, HOURCAR Vehicles have an on-board device that may monitor the state of the vehicle from moment to moment whether or not in a trip, and the information may include its location and driver behavior monitoring such as crash detection factors or rate of braking or acceleration. This information is transmitted to HOURCAR and stored. HOURCAR uses this information for a variety of important purposes. For example, we may monitor or store vehicle or GPS data to help you find a reserved vehicle, to assist with roadside assistance, to assist in making a car available at the place and time you have reserved, to improve our service, to assist us in enforcing our legal rights, or to locate lost/stolen/misplaced HOURCAR Vehicles. HOURCAR also shares tracking data with academic and research entities and local, state, and federal governments and agencies to further the development of transportation research and policy.

How We Disclose Personal Information

HOURCAR shares information with third parties in limited circumstances such as to provide the HOURCAR Service, fulfill a transaction you have requested, offer you personalized services, or in other circumstances that are permitted by law and consistent with the purposes for which we collected the information. For example, we may disclose your personal information, including GPS information from any of our vehicles, to contractors, advisors, consultants, and service providers acting on our behalf or under our instructions, including for purposes relating to the provision, operation, maintenance, administration, promotion, improvement, and oversight of our services, Sites and advertising services, or to fulfill your requests for information or service. If you apply for HOURCAR membership, some of the information you supply may be shared with regulatory bodies and/or service providers we utilize to obtain your driving record or other personal information, as well as for research purposes, which may require external tools such as Arc GIS, The Texas A&M, NAACCR, NCI Geocoder, and others. 

If your membership is associated or affiliated with another primary account (as, for example, if you join HOURCAR as part of a business account), the primary account holder (e.g., the business account administrator) will generally have access to certain information regarding your account or your use of the HOURCAR Service, including specific trip details (such as the route of your trips), and account approval status. We may disclose your personal information in connection with a corporate transaction, proceeding, or reorganization involving the business activities for which the information is maintained. In the event that ownership of HOURCAR or its business was to change as a result of a merger, acquisition, or transfer to another company, your personal information may be shared or transferred.

HOURCAR may disclose your personal information, including location/GPS data, in response to a law enforcement inquiry (for example, a court order, search warrant, or subpoena) or requests from law enforcement or regulatory authorities; in other circumstances in which HOURCAR believes the Sites, the HOURCAR service or our vehicles are being or have been used in violation of our policies, applicable law or otherwise in the commission of a crime; when we have a good faith belief that there is an emergency that poses a threat to the safety of you or another person; or when necessary to protect the rights or property of HOURCAR or third parties.

How Might This Privacy Notice be Changed?

We may change this privacy notice from time to time, so it is advisable to review it frequently. We will advise you of material changes to this privacy notice through our Sites or other means, and all amended terms shall automatically be effective as of the date of the amended notice. When we make changes to this privacy notice, we will change the “last updated” date at the beginning of this privacy notice. Your continued use of the HOURCAR Service or maintenance of an HOURCAR account will be deemed acceptance of any revised privacy notice. Certain provisions of the privacy notice may vary based upon the jurisdiction in which you reserve or use HOURCAR Vehicles. For example, in other jurisdictions, HOURCAR may collect and use different locations or other information associated with your trip and may use it differently than in your home location.

Contact Information

If you have questions about our handling of personal information, you may write to us at [email protected] or HOURCAR, 755 Prior Ave. N, Suite 301D, Saint Paul, MN 5