Privacy Policy for SPARQ Software and Services

Welcome to the SPARQ and SPARQ LABS (“SPARQ”/“we”/“us”/“our”) website (“site”) and mobile application (“App”). We collectively refer to both the App and Site together as “Software.” This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) has been developed by us to provide you, the user and member of our service (“you”/“user”/”member”), with information about how we collect, process, use, and disclose information collected and received through your use of the Software and our services. This Policy is referenced and incorporated into our Terms of Service (“TOS”).

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE SOFTWARE AND OUR SERVICE.

By using the Software you consent to our collection, processing, and use of your personally identifiable information, as set forth below, as well as disclosure and transfer in certain instances in accordance with this Policy. This Policy’s purpose is to inform you of SPARQ’s privacy practices, including:

We take our users’ privacy concerns seriously. We implement what we believe to be reasonable precautions to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of information under our control, and make reasonable efforts to protect your privacy, depending upon the nature of the information to be protected. However, due to the nature of the Internet, computer systems, communications networks, and numerous other factors, we cannot guarantee or ensure absolute privacy or complete security and that your information will never be lost, misused, altered, or that no unauthorized third party will obtain access or ever receive it.

In addition, please note the following: 

Information can generally be collected three ways: (1) Information that is knowingly and voluntarily input into the Software directly by the user in response to particular prompts or fields that require a response; (2) information that is collected automatically when a user interacts with the Software; and (3) information that is collected automatically when a user is not interacting with the App. You are required to provide some information voluntarily in order to use the Software and our services when you first register with us and at certain points afterwards. The App also automatically collects some information when you use it.  This is explained in more detail below. We also collect certain information automatically when you are not using the App, such as your mobile device’s geolocation data.

Some information that we collect can be “personally identifiable” information (“PII”). This means any type of information which could be used to identify or be readily associated with a particular individual using the Software, such as yourself. Examples of PII include but are not limited to, your name, address, telephone number, financial information, and e-mail address, or any combination thereof.  PII can also sometimes include information that may be used to identify you indirectly, including reference to an online identifier, geolocation data, or a device identification number.

In order for you to use the Software, you will be required to provide some PII about yourself, such as your full name, address, e-mail, information about your vehicle (such as year, make, model and its Vehicle identification number, and other information). This information will be used for our own internal business uses and could in some instances be disseminated to other outside parties, as set forth below.

As stated in the TOS, when you subscribe to our service, we provide you with a SPARQ OBD-II diagnostic device (“SPARQ Device”) that is used by you and inserted into your vehicle’s OBD-II Port. This allows you and us to access certain diagnostic data that is automatically recorded and stored about your vehicle’s operation (collectively, “Diagnostic Data”). Your Diagnostic Data can by itself be personally identifiable in some instances. We also combine your Diagnostic Data with other information that we collect about you, including other PII.

The transmission of an e-mail or other electronic communication voluntarily initiated by you to us can transmit PII about you. If a user includes his/her name, telephone number, and other information in the body of the e-mail (and sometimes in the e-mail address itself), this information is personally identifiable. A user should not send PII to us via unencrypted e-mail, particularly information that you deem to be sensitive or confidential.  As discussed in this Policy, this information could be disclosed in certain circumstances.

We do not consider PII to include information that has been made anonymous by removing various identifying features, or information which may be aggregated so it can no longer be used to readily identify a particular user.

The automatic collection of information refers to information collected from a user that does not require you to intentionally provide it in response to particular fields or prompts when using the Software. For instance, if you upload any content through the Software, we may collect information such as the time and date of the upload, the amount and type of content uploaded, and the features you access and use (for example). This information is collected and stored by us automatically without further action from you and may be combined with and linked to other information that we have about you, whether PII or not.

Automatic collection can also occur if a website uses “cookies.” A cookie is a small unique text file automatically placed on your computer’s web browser by a site that is used to recognize users who have previously visited the site. In general, cookies are either persistent and may reside on your computer for a period of time after you last accessed the site—or even indefinitely until you manually delete or otherwise dispose of them—or on a temporary session basis, which usually terminate when a user closes their web browser. We use both persistent and session cookies on our site.

Cookies by themselves do not tell us your PII unless you choose to provide this information to us by becoming a member of our service and registering through the Software (for example).  However, once you choose to furnish us with PII, this information may be combined and linked to the data stored in the cookie or in other tracking mechanisms. Among other things, we use cookies to understand and evaluate site usage, to personalize your experience on the site, and to save your password in password-protected areas. While many browsers are set to accept cookies and other tracking technologies by default, you can set yours to refuse them or to alert you prior to accepting them.  However, disabling them may prevent you from accessing all of the site’s features.  Please refer to your Internet browser’s instructions to learn more about these functions.

In addition, like many current and standard website servers, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. These files may contain data such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, internet service provider, date/time stamps, referring webpages, and other data. This information, among other things, allows us to track statistics and trends on an aggregate basis.

We may also use “web beacons” (also known as “action tags,” “single pixel gifs,” or “clear gifs”), which are similar to cookies, in order to gather information about the site. Web beacons help us to identify and track the performance of web pages on the site and allow us to measure the site’s performance and content. In addition, we may use web beacons in e-mails (for example). This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain communications and marketing campaigns by showing if our e-mails have been opened.

Your vehicle’s Diagnostic Data is automatically collected by us through the App when you manually insert the SPARQ Device into your vehicle’s port. This data may then be combined with and linked to other information that we have about you, including when you use the Software.

Having accurate and current information permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience with the Software.  In addition to any other uses discussed in this Policy, we may use information collected about you from the Software to:

As discussed below, this Policy and these uses may be amended by us from time-to-time. Any information collected by the Software may be stored in our database for an indefinite period of time and used by us, even after your membership expires or terminates.

There may be instances when we disseminate, distribute, or transfer your PII to third parties. For example, if we reorganize, sell, or transfer all or a portion of SPARQ’s and/or a SPARQ LAB’s assets; or undergo a merger with another entity; or are acquired by a third party; we may transfer your information to the new, joint, or successor entity as part of the transaction. If we go out of business, enter bankruptcy or receivership, or experience any other insolvency event, your information would likely be considered to be an asset that would be transferred, purchased, or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge and agree that such transfers may occur in these types of situations and that the transferee may decline to honor any commitments we made to you pursuant to this Policy, and may also have different privacy terms and practices.

We may also share your information with our affiliates, including SPARQ LABS, but require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include but are not limited to our parent company and any subsidiaries, licensees and licensors, joint venture partners, or other companies that we control or that are under common control with us.

In addition, we may assist federal, state, or local law enforcement in civil or criminal investigations or actions, and/or respond to subpoenas or other court, agency, or governmental orders, directives, or requests for information as well, which can result in dissemination and disclosure of your PII.

We may use and/or contract with certain third party service providers (“outside service providers”), including Amazon Web Services and Google Analytics, to assist us in implementing the Software and improving its features and functionality. We do not purposely or knowingly disclose a user’s unencrypted PII to outside service providers. We also use outside service providers such as payment processors for your credit and debit card information. This Policy does not apply to the privacy and data collection practices of any outside service providers. These providers likely have different policies and practices, and any inquiries about them must be directed to the appropriate provider. We will not answer any inquiries about their policies or practices.

In addition, since our App is made available to you on digital software distribution platforms (“Platforms”) such as Apple’s App Store, the Samsung Galaxy Store, Google Play, etc., your use of those Platforms is likely subject to other privacy policies in addition to this Policy. Please review those other policies and direct any inquiries to the appropriate Platform.

The security of your PII is important to us and we take what we believe are reasonable steps designed to protect it, including but not limited to encryption. Our Software has measures in place to try to protect against the destruction, loss, misuse, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, or unauthorized access of your PII that remains under our custody or control.

California residents have a right to knowledge, access, and deletion of their personal data under the California Consumer Privacy Act. California residents also have a right to opt out of the sale of their personal data by a business and a right not to be discriminated against for exercising one of their California privacy rights.

SPARQ does not sell your personal data to anyone for any purpose, and does not discriminate in response to privacy rights requests.

SPARQ provides disclosure of our data practices in this Privacy Notice. This includes what personal data is collected, the source of the personal data, and the purposes of use, as well as whether SPARQ discloses that personal data and if so, the categories of third parties to whom it is disclosed. California residents who have purchased a SPARQ product or service may exercise their rights directly (or through an authorized agent) by signing in to their SPARQ Account and making a data privacy request by contacting legal@joinsparq.com. If you are a California resident without a SPARQ Account and you would like to exercise your privacy rights, requests may also be made by:

If you do not have a SPARQ account, SPARQ may ask you for information which we consider necessary to verify your identity for security and to prevent fraud. This information may include name, contact information, and information related to your transaction or relationship with SPARQ, but the specific information requested may differ depending on the circumstances of your request for your security and to protect privacy rights. If you request deletion of your personal data, please note, that we will both render certain personal data about you permanently unrecoverable and also de-identify certain personal data.

We provide access to you to correct any inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date information in your user profile which you may have provided to us previously. If you are having difficulty accessing or correcting this information, please contact us directly at legal@joinsparq.com.

We do not actively market, target, or direct our efforts to, or knowingly collect PII from, children under the age of thirteen (13) years.  The Software and our services are intended for use by adults only and who possess a passenger vehicle and a Class D driver’s license, as set forth in the TOS.

We may update this Policy from time-to-time as we deem necessary in our sole discretion. Notice of such updates, amendments, and/or changes (collectively, “changes”) will be provided through our Software. We encourage you to review this Policy to stay informed about how we collect, use, disclose, and share PII, as this may change. Continuing to use our Software and service after we post any changes to this Policy constitutes your agreement and acceptance to be bound by such changes. Any changes to this Policy take effect immediately after being posted or as otherwise stated by us.

The Software may contain links to other outside websites.  We are not responsible or liable for the content, transmissions, data collection practices, or privacy practices of these other sites.  Any questions that you have must be directed to the appropriate party at that site.

For any questions about this Policy or our privacy practices, please contact  legal@joinsparq.com. Any information that you receive from us responding to a particular question or comment that you have does not modify, amend, or change: This Policy, the TOS, our data collection and usage practices, any other privacy policy of outside service providers, or otherwise binds us in any way.