This Privacy Policy explains how Bimmer Garage ("we", "us") collects and uses information when you visit bimmergarage.blog (the "Site").
Last updated: October 10, 2026
Information we collect
You can use the 3D experience and read our guides without creating an account or giving us any personal information.
Optional member account. If you choose to create an account (for example to take part in the blog), we store the information you give us: your username, email address, a securely hashed password and anything you publish, such as posts, comments or profile details. Public profile pages show only what you choose to publish. We use this information to run your account and the blog, and you can ask us to delete your account at any time.
Email. If you contact us by email, we receive your email address and the content of your message, which we use only to reply to you.
"Which car next?" vote. When you vote for or suggest a car, we store the car name, a one-way hash of a random identifier kept in your browser (one vote per car) and a hash of your IP address (to limit abuse). If you choose to add them, we also store your note, Instagram username, a photo of your car and your email address. Photos are re-encoded in your browser before upload, which removes location and camera data. Your note, Instagram, photo and email are visible only to our team and are never published; we use your email once, to tell you when the car is available. You can ask us to delete them at any time.
Comments without an account. You can post a few comments without an account. We store the name you enter, your comment, a random identifier kept in your browser (so you can see and delete your own comments) and a one-way hash of your IP address (to limit spam). Comment reports are stored the same way.
Notifications and community features. If you have an account, we store the notifications we show you (replies, likes, mentions, follows, new posts in topics you follow), who you follow, the cars you add to your garage and their photos. If you turn on email notifications, we use your email address to tell you about replies and mentions; you can turn this off in your account at any time.
Marketplace. If you place a listing in the Marketplace, we publish its title, description, price, location, photos and your public username. Your email address and phone number are never shown; buyers contact you through private messages on the Site. Listings expire after 60 days and you can mark them sold or delete them at any time. We store reports about listings to keep the Marketplace safe.
Events. If you add an event, we publish its details and your public username as the organiser. If you reply “Going” or “Maybe” to an event, your username and profile photo are shown on the event page, and we use your reply to send you a reminder the day before and to tell you if the event changes or is cancelled. You can remove your reply at any time.
Reading history. To offer “Continue reading”, your browser remembers how far you read each post (in local storage). If you are signed in, this is also saved in your account so it works on your other devices. You can clear it at any time under My account → Reading history.
Sign in with Google. If you choose “Continue with Google”, Google tells us your name, email address, profile photo and a Google account identifier, which we use only to create and sign in to your account.
Newsletter. If you subscribe, we store your email address and the date you confirmed it. We send a confirmation email first and only add you after you confirm (members subscribe from their account). Every newsletter has a one-click unsubscribe link. We do not share your email address with anyone.
Like most websites, our hosting provider may automatically record technical information such as your IP address, browser type, referring page and the date and time of your visit. This information is used to keep the Site secure and working properly.
Security and activity log. To protect accounts and the community from abuse, we keep a log of actions on the Site: sign-ins and failed sign-in attempts, registrations, and when posts, comments, topics, listings or events are created, edited, reported or removed. Each entry records the action, the account (if you are signed in), your IP address, your browser type and the time. Passwords and the text of private messages are never logged. Only our administrators can see this log, and entries are deleted automatically after 90 days.
Visit statistics. To understand which pages are read and how people find the Site, we record each page view with: the page, the time, the type of device, browser and operating system, the website you came from (only its domain) or the campaign tag in the link, your browser language, how long the page was open and how far you scrolled, and the country and city derived from your IP address. We also count what is searched on the Site (the search words only, without who searched) and actions on the 3D page, such as which car or colour is chosen or when the engine is started. Your IP address itself is not stored with these statistics; the location is looked up on our own server using the free IP to City Lite database by DB-IP (licensed under CC BY 4.0), so it is not sent to any other company. Visits are linked only by an anonymous identifier that changes every day, so you cannot be followed from one day to the next. Statistics are kept for up to two years and are visible only to our administrators.
Who is online. While a page is open, your browser tells our server once a minute which page you are reading, so we can count how many people are on the Site. Visitors without an account are counted with a one-way hash of the IP address and browser that changes every day; nothing is stored on your device for this, and the data is kept only in memory and cleared within a day.
Cookies and local storage
The Site itself stores only what it needs to work: your choice of 3D car model (in your browser's local storage) and, if you sign in, a login session cookie. Third-party services described below may use cookies or similar technologies. You can control cookies through your browser settings. See our Cookie Policy for details.
Advertising — Google AdSense
We use Google AdSense, a service of Google LLC / Google Ireland Limited, to show advertisements. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites.
Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visit to this Site and/or other sites on the Internet.
Users may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
For more information about how Google uses data, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Consent (EEA, UK and Switzerland)
Visitors from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland see a consent message provided by Google's consent management platform (a Google-certified CMP) on their first visit. Personalised ads and non-essential cookies are used only if you agree. If you do not agree, Google may still show non-personalised or limited ads, which use cookies only for purposes such as frequency capping, aggregated reporting and fraud prevention.
You can change or withdraw your consent at any time with the Privacy settings link in the footer of every page.
US state privacy rights
If you live in a US state with a consumer privacy law (such as California), you can opt out of the use of your information for personalised advertising through the Privacy settings link, Google Ads Settings or the opt-out pages listed above. We do not sell personal information for money.
Analytics
We do not currently use a separate analytics service. If we add one in the future, we will update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent first.
External links
The Site links to external websites such as Instagram and Sketchfab. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites.
Children
The Site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal data we hold about you, to object to or restrict its processing, and to complain to your local data-protection authority. To exercise these rights, contact us at bmwe60lovers1@gmail.com.
How long we keep data
Account data is kept while your account exists and deleted when you ask us to close it. Emails are kept only as long as needed to answer you. Server logs are kept for a limited time for security; the security and activity log is deleted automatically after 90 days.
Changes
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.
Contact
Questions about this policy: bmwe60lovers1@gmail.com