Privacy policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Draft, pre-launch. This page is a working draft for a site that has not launched. The operator's address for legal notices has not been confirmed yet, and this text has not been reviewed by an attorney. Do not rely on it until this notice is removed.

This policy explains what personal information Lose the Dent collects through losethedent.com (the Site), what we do with it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. Lose the Dent (we, us, our) is operated by MCLACHLAN, RICHARD ANDREW (sole trader).

The short version. You tell us about damage to your vehicle so that local dent repair businesses can quote you. We pass your request to a small number of matched businesses. We do not sell your personal information, we do not share it for targeted advertising, and we do not run advertising trackers on the Site.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us

Quote requests. Your ZIP code, a description of the damage, where it is on the vehicle, the vehicle's year, make and model, photos you upload, whether you plan to use insurance, how and when you would like the repair done, and any notes you add.
Contact details. Your name, email address and mobile number, and, if you choose to give it, the street address where a mobile technician should meet you.
Messages. What you write to a business in the on-site chat or through the message form on a business's page, including photos you attach.
Account details. Your name, email address and a password (stored only as a one-way hash). If you sign in with Google, Google gives us your name, email address and profile picture address.
Business information. If you list or claim a business: its name, address or service area, phone, email, website, services, prices and the other details you enter, and your connection to the business.
Correspondence. Anything you send us through the contact form or by email.

Information collected automatically

Technical data. Your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you request and when. Our servers keep this in short-lived logs for security and to fix problems.
Cookies. We use only the cookies the Site needs to work (keeping you signed in, protecting forms). See the cookie notice.
Location. If you tap "Use my current location" in the search, your browser asks your permission and sends us your position for that one search. We do not store it. Otherwise we work from the city or ZIP code you type.
Photo metadata. We remove embedded location (GPS) data from photos you upload before they are stored or shown to anyone.

Information from other sources

Business listings. Listings are compiled from publicly available sources, including a business's own website and its public Google Maps listing (name, address or service area, phone, website, hours, Google rating and review count). Ratings shown as Google ratings are Google's.

We do not knowingly collect Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, payment card numbers, or health information. Please do not put them in a request or a message. A photo of your vehicle may show its license plate: crop or cover it if you prefer.

2. How we use information

To send your quote request to matched dent repair businesses and show you their quotes.
To run the on-site chat between you and a business, and to email you when a quote or a message arrives.
To verify your email address and mobile number before a request is sent, so businesses receive real requests.
To create and secure accounts, and to let a business manage its listing.
To answer your questions and handle complaints.
To prevent spam, fraud and abuse, and to keep the Site secure.
To understand, in aggregate, how the Site is used so we can improve it.
To comply with the law and enforce our terms.

We do not use your personal information to make decisions about you by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects. Matching a request to businesses uses the request itself: distance, the type of damage and what each business says it does.

Dent repair businesses you are matched with. They see the request: your ZIP code area, the vehicle, the damage description and your photos. Your email address, phone number and any street address are not shown to a business until you choose that business. Until then, contact details typed into the chat are blocked.
A business you message directly. If you use the message form on a business's page, that business receives your name, email address, phone number (if given) and message so it can reply.
Service providers. Companies that host the Site, deliver our email, protect the Site from spam and attacks, and provide map images. They may use your information only to provide their service to us. Map images are loaded from OpenStreetMap, which receives your IP address when a map is displayed.
Google, if you choose Google sign-in. Google learns that you signed in to the Site.
Legal and safety. When the law requires it, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our users, the public or us.
Business transfer. If the Site is sold or merged, information transfers to the new operator, which must honor this policy.

Each business is an independent company and is responsible for how it handles the information it receives from you. We require businesses to use request information only to quote and carry out your repair, but we do not control them.

4. We do not sell or share your personal information

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act. We have not done so in the past 12 months. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16. Passing your request to the businesses you asked us to find is a disclosure you direct, not a sale.

Because we do not sell or share personal information, there is nothing to opt out of. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a request not to sell or share, which is already how we operate.

5. Your privacy rights (California and other states)

California (CCPA, as amended by the CPRA) and a growing number of other states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, Florida, Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, Minnesota, Maryland, Indiana, Kentucky and Rhode Island, give their residents rights over their personal information. We extend the following rights to everyone in the United States, whichever state you live in:

Right to know and to access. Ask what personal information we hold about you, where it came from, what we use it for and who we disclosed it to, and get a copy.
Right to delete. Ask us to delete your personal information and your account.
Right to correct. Ask us to fix information that is wrong.
Right to data portability. Get your information in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to opt out of sale, sharing and targeted advertising. We do none of these.
Right to limit the use of sensitive personal information. We use account credentials only to sign you in, and a precise location only for the one search you ask for. We do not use sensitive information to infer characteristics about you.
Right to non-discrimination. We will not treat you differently for using any of these rights.
Right to appeal. If we decline a request, you can ask us to reconsider by replying to our decision. If you remain unhappy, you may contact your state attorney general.

How to make a request

Email hello@losethedent.com from the address on your account or your request, or use the contact form, and tell us what you would like (a copy, a correction, deletion). We verify the request by confirming you control that email address, and may ask for a little more if the request is unusual. You may use an authorized agent; we will ask the agent for proof of your signed permission. We answer within 45 days. If we need more time (up to a further 45 days) we will tell you why. Requests are free.

Categories of personal information (California notice at collection)

Category	Examples	Disclosed for a business purpose to
Identifiers	Name, email address, phone number, IP address, account login	Service providers; the business you choose or message
Customer records	Street address, if you give one for a mobile repair	The business you choose
Commercial information	Your quote requests, the quotes you received, the business you chose	Matched businesses; service providers
Internet activity	Pages requested, time, browser type	Service providers
Geolocation	ZIP code; precise position only for a "current location" search, not stored	Matched businesses see the ZIP code area
Visual information	Photos of vehicle damage	Matched businesses; service providers
Professional information	For business users: business name, role, business contact details	Published on the listing; service providers

We collect these categories from you directly, from your device, and (for business listings) from public sources. We use them for the purposes in section 2 and keep them for the periods in section 8. We do not collect biometric information, and we do not draw inferences to build a profile of you.

California "Shine the Light". We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing.

Nevada. We do not sell covered information as defined by Nevada law.

6. Email (CAN-SPAM)

Most email we send is transactional: verification codes, a quote arriving, a new chat message, a change to your request or your listing. You receive these because you asked for the service, and they do not carry marketing.

If we send a commercial or promotional email (for example, inviting a listed business to claim its listing), it will say who it is from, include our postal address and a working unsubscribe link, and we will honor an unsubscribe within 10 business days. Unsubscribing from promotional email does not stop transactional messages about a request you have open.

7. Texts and calls (TCPA)

We ask for your mobile number so that we can verify it and so that the business you choose can reach you about the repair. By entering your mobile number and submitting a request you agree that:

Lose the Dent may send you texts about your request at that number (for example a verification code, or an alert that a quote or message has arrived), which may be sent using automated technology;
the business you choose may call or text you at that number about your repair.

Your consent is not a condition of buying anything. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any text from us to stop texts, or HELP for help. You can also withdraw consent by emailing hello@losethedent.com. We do not send marketing texts, and we do not give your number to anyone for their marketing. Until you choose a business, businesses cannot see your number.

8. How long we keep information

Quote requests, quotes, chat and photos: while the request is open and for up to 24 months afterwards, so you and the business have a record, then deleted or anonymized.
Accounts: until you ask us to delete the account.
Messages sent through a business's page and the contact form: up to 24 months.
Server and security logs: up to 90 days, longer only where needed to investigate abuse.

We may keep a minimal record for longer where the law requires it or to resolve a dispute. Information a business received from you before you ask us to delete it stays with that business: ask the business directly.

9. Deleting your account and exporting your data

You can ask us at any time to delete your account and the requests, messages and photos linked to it, or to send you an export of them. Email hello@losethedent.com from the address on the account. We confirm the request, act on it within 45 days, and tell you when it is done. If you own a business listing, deleting your account releases the listing; ask us if you also want the listing removed.

10. Security

The Site is served over an encrypted connection, passwords are stored as one-way hashes, photos are kept in private storage and shown only to you and the businesses on your request, and access to personal information is limited to the people who run the Site. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the authorities as the law of your state requires.

11. Children

The Site is for adults. It is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Where information is processed

The Site serves drivers and businesses in the United States. Our operator and some of our service providers are located outside the United States, including in Australia, so your information may be processed in the United States, Australia and other countries whose privacy laws differ from those of your state. Wherever it is processed, we protect it as described in this policy.

13. If your business is listed

Listings are built from public business information. If you own a listed business you can take control of the listing to correct it, or ask us to correct or remove it by emailing hello@losethedent.com. We act on removal requests from the business owner.

14. Changes to this policy

We will post any change here and update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use information we already hold, we will tell you by email or by a notice on the Site before it takes effect.

15. Contact us

Privacy questions and requests: hello@losethedent.com. See also our terms of use, cookie notice and accessibility statement.