Privacy

Hanterill talks to the car through the diagnostic cable and saves sessions on your computer. The desktop app does not require an account or send diagnostic sessions to a cloud service. This guide explains what is stored and what to check before sharing a file.

What stays on your computer#

Everything Hanterill records is stored locally in your user profile folder:

• Saved sessions, fault scans, and live captures: Stored in your local session archive together with any notes you write.
• Exported files: JSON, CSV, HTML/print reports, and ZIP bundles saved wherever you choose.
• Application settings: Your chosen theme, language, audience mode, and connection preferences.
• Activity log: A local log of diagnostic operations run during your session, with VINs automatically masked.
• Per-vehicle discovery cache: Stored under a one-way hash of the VIN so directory listings on your computer never expose your car's identity.

What Hanterill does not send to outside services#

• No usage analytics or background tracking
• No account login or licence check
• No diagnostic sessions, vehicle data or fault codes uploaded
• No third-party crash reports

You can run a diagnostic session without internet access. If you enable Settings -> Updates, the app can ask GitHub's public release feed once a day whether a newer tagged version exists. It shows a notice if one is available and does not download an installer. The request contains no vehicle readings or VIN.

VIN visibility and privacy redaction#

Hanterill reads your car's 17-character VIN when connecting so it can identify the vehicle platform, check for mismatched modules, and keep sessions from two different cars separate. You stay in full control of when that VIN is shown:

• On the Vehicle screen and Inspection Reports: The full 17-character VIN is displayed clearly so you can verify the car against its registration documents and physical VIN plate, with a one-click privacy toggle in the toolbar to mask it (YSM...0428) whenever you want to take a screenshot or share a report.
• In other screens: You can set default VIN masking in Settings -> Privacy & Storage.
• In support bundles: Exporting a support bundle from Settings -> About automatically scrubs VINs, module serial numbers, private IP addresses, and exact GPS coordinates ([REDACTED-GPS]) while preserving the diagnostic readings needed to troubleshoot an issue.

Optional GPS coordinates#

Location tagging is disabled by default. If you opt in under Settings -> Privacy & Storage, you can attach approximate coordinates to a session so you remember which workshop or charger a capture was taken at.

• Inspection Reports leave GPS out by default. You can include it when you explicitly enable that option for a report.
• In exports where location is enabled, coordinates may be rounded. Check the location section before sharing a file.

Storage management, retention, and deletion#

In Settings -> Privacy & Storage, you can see how much disk space your saved sessions, raw captures, and logs are using, and choose how long sessions are kept automatically:

• 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, or Indefinitely
• One-click storage cleanup: Clear cached module discovery records or permanently delete all stored sessions and captures in one step.

Website versus desktop app#

While the Hanterill desktop application never connects to the internet, this documentation website reads GitHub's public release page so the Download and Changelog pages can show the current version and installer links.

Free for personal use#

There is no paid tier, no subscription, and no feature locked behind a paywall. Hanterill is free for personal, non-commercial use under the terms explained on the License page.

Next#

• Safety: how Hanterill separates read-only diagnostics from vehicle-changing routines.
• License: the terms Hanterill is published under.