Boring Lights privacy policy

Boring Lights is made by Boring Mods. Last updated 21 October 2026.

What we collect

Nothing. The app has no accounts, no analytics and no adverts, and it does not send anything about you or your car to us or anyone else.

What stays on your phone

• Your light choices and settings.
• Which adapter you use and, for Bluetooth adapters, its name and ID so the app can reconnect.
• Whether you have unlocked the app.

Bluetooth and local network

The app uses Bluetooth or your adapter's Wi-Fi only to talk to the OBD adapter plugged into your car. It reads things like your car's VIN and battery voltage to set itself up; these stay on your phone.

To show a 3D car that looks like yours, the app may look up the model and year from the first 11 characters of the VIN (never the serial number at the end) with the free VIN decoder of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov). Nothing else is sent, and we never receive it.

Location

While a light show plays, the app checks how fast the phone is moving so it can stop the show straight away if the car drives off. Only the speed is used, on the phone, while the show runs. Your location is never stored or sent anywhere.

Purchases

Unlocking is handled by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play). We never see your payment details.

Reports you choose to send

Setup can make a support report (which light modules your car has and the app's log, with the VIN partly hidden). It is only shared if you send it yourself.

Car reports. To add support for more cars, the app sends a short car report to Boring Mods after a light test, a car scan or the first show on a car we haven't mapped yet. It contains the first 11 characters of the VIN (model, year and factory, not the serial number), which light modules the car has, which light commands the car accepted or refused, your light-test answers, the app version and the adapter type. It contains no name, email, location, phone details or account. You can switch it off in Setup under "Help add more cars".

Camera light test. If you use the camera light test, the app looks at the camera picture on your phone to see which of your car's lights flash. The picture is never saved, recorded or sent anywhere, and the camera is switched off as soon as the test ends.

Get help. Only when you tap Send under Get help, the app sends us your message, the contact you typed for our reply (Instagram name or email, optional) and a report about your car (model, light results, app log; the VIN serial is hidden). We use it only to answer you and fix the problem, keep it on our own server and in our private GitHub repository, and delete it when it is no longer needed for that. Ask us to delete it any time.

Play together. Only when you start or join a group under Play together, the app sends this website the 4-digit group code, the show and speed that were picked, and a random number made fresh for that group (to count how many phones are in it). Nothing about you, your phone or your car is sent, and nothing is kept: a group is deleted 30 minutes after it was last used.

Notifications. Only if you tap Notify me, the app asks your phone for permission to show notifications, so we can tell you when your car works with Boring Lights. They are delivered by Google Firebase Cloud Messaging, which gives your phone an anonymous address for this app; your phone joins a group for your make and model of car (for example "Kia"), and we only ever send to that group. We never see or store your phone's address or anything that identifies you. Turn them off at any time in your phone's settings.

Anonymous usage. So the app and this website keep getting better, they send anonymous usage counts to Boring Mods: which screens, buttons and light modes get used, taps repeated quickly on the same button, error messages (with numbers, VINs and addresses removed), how long the app or page was open, the app version, phone type (iPhone or Android), adapter type and car model picked, and for this website the page, the site you came from, how far you scrolled and your screen width. A random number links the counts from one app launch or one browser tab, and is never stored on your phone or reused. No cookies, no IP address is kept, and nothing is linked to you or your car. Each day is added up into one summary. In the app, the "Help add more cars" switch in Setup turns this off too; on the website, your browser's "Do Not Track" setting does.

Contact

Questions: message us on Instagram, @boringlights, or use our contact form.