Cookies Policy

Cookies Policy describes how small text files are used when a browser opens a page. A few files keep the site working, remember a choice, and count visits in aggregate, and cookie use on Vin Number stays narrow. This page names each category, the purpose it serves, the time it lasts, and the controls a reader can apply. It applies to every page on the domain and to email sent to info@vinnumber.us. No advertising file is placed by this site.

Cookies Policy forms part of the wider privacy notice at vinnumber.us/privacy-policy/ and should be read beside that document. Vin Number does not provide services, communities, commitments, tools, or platforms, so no shopping cart, member login, or account cookie exists on this site. The sections below describe what a cookie is, which types appear on these pages, how measurement and third parties fit, how consent works, and where to send a question about a stored file. The current version is dated October 20, 2026.

Scope of This Cookies Policy

This policy applies to vinnumber.us and to messages sent to info@vinnumber.us. It describes how Vin Number, an independent publisher of vehicle identification number material for the United States, uses cookies and similar storage on a public website. The policy does not govern NHTSA, a state motor vehicle department, a county clerk, or another site reached through a reference on a page. Those bodies set their own cookies and publish their own notices. Vin Number does not provide services, communities, commitments, tools, or platforms, so the cookie set stays small and no account area exists. Email is the contact channel for any question about this policy.

What Cookies Are

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks a browser to store, usually with a name, a value, a domain, and an expiry date. The browser sends the file back with later requests to the same domain, which lets a server remember a setting or a session. A session cookie lasts until the browser closes, and a persistent cookie stays for a set period. Similar storage, such as local storage or a pixel, can hold a preference or record a page view. A cookie does not run a program, and it cannot read other files on a device. Vin Number treats all of these files under the same rules set out here.

How Vin Number Uses Cookies

Vin Number uses cookies for three jobs. The first is to keep the site working: a session file lets the server handle a form submission, a security token blocks a forged request, and a load balancer keeps a visitor on the same server. The second is to remember a choice, such as a consent decision or a display setting, so a banner or a prompt does not repeat on every page. The third is to count visits in aggregate so the publisher knows which articles help readers. The site does not use cookies to build a profile of a named person, to follow a reader to another domain, or to serve a targeted advertisement.

Strictly Necessary and Preference Cookies

Strictly necessary cookies support a function the visitor requested. A session cookie keeps a lookup request tied to the browser that sent it. A security cookie protects a form against cross-site request forgery. A consent cookie records whether a visitor accepted or refused optional files, which prevents the same question from appearing on each page. These files are set without consent in most jurisdictions, since the site cannot operate without them. A visitor who blocks them may find that a form fails or that a preference resets on the next page. They carry no advertising identifier and are not shared with a marketing network.

Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies, where present, report aggregate figures: page views, session length, the state pages that draw the most interest, and the rate at which a lookup form returns a result. Reports show totals and trends, not the name of a visitor. Vin Number sets measurement to respect privacy: IP addresses are masked where the service allows it, retention is short, and the data is not joined to the VIN field. No advertising pixel or cross-site tracker runs on this site. A visitor can refuse these cookies in the consent panel or block scripts in the browser, and every article and every lookup result stays available.

Third-Party Cookies

A third-party cookie is set by a domain other than vinnumber.us. The site may load a font, a script, or an embedded map from another provider, and that provider can set a file when the page loads. Vin Number keeps such embeds to a minimum and does not permit a third party to place an advertising cookie through this domain. A reference to NHTSA, a state office, or a county page is plain text, so no third-party cookie is set until a reader chooses to open that address. The destination site then applies its own policy, and Vin Number cannot read or delete a file that another domain sets.

Cookies and VIN Queries

A VIN query does not need a cookie to return a result. The characters typed into the form are sent to a public vehicle data service, and the response is rendered on the page. A session cookie may exist during the request so the server can match the reply to the correct browser, yet the VIN is not stored in that file. Vin Number does not build a list of vehicles a visitor checked, and it does not use a cookie to recognize a returning reader by a VIN. A reader who clears cookies between queries loses no lookup function.

How Long Cookies Last

A session cookie ends when the browser closes. A preference cookie lasts up to 12 months, and a consent record lasts up to 12 months so the choice is honored across visits. An analytics cookie, where present, lasts no more than 13 months. Vin Number reviews each expiry date once a year, shortens a period when a purpose no longer needs the file, and removes a stale record early. A visitor can remove any stored file at once through the browser settings, and the next visit starts with a clean state.

Managing Cookies in Your Browser

Every major browser lets a visitor view, block, and delete cookies. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge each place the controls under a privacy or site settings menu, and a private window discards most files when it closes. A browser can block third-party cookies and allow first-party files, which keeps a form working and stops an embed from storing data. Mobile systems offer a similar control for in-app browsers. A reader who blocks all cookies can still read every article and run a VIN query, though a consent prompt may appear again on the next visit. Browser help pages list the exact stages for each version.

Consent and Your Choices

Where the law requires consent, vinnumber.us asks before an optional cookie is set. The panel offers an accept action, a refuse action, and a settings view for each category. Strictly necessary files load without a prompt. A refusal is honored for 12 months, and a visitor can change a choice at any time through the same panel. The site does not use a dark pattern, a pre-ticked box, or a scroll action as a substitute for consent. A record of the choice holds a timestamp and a category list, not a name or an email address. Withdrawing consent stops new optional files and leaves earlier logs to expire on schedule.

Do Not Track and Browser Signals

Browsers can send a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal with each request. Vin Number treats a Global Privacy Control signal as a refusal of optional measurement where the law recognizes it. A Do Not Track header is read as a preference and is honored for analytics scripts that the site controls. A third-party embed may not respect either signal, which is one reason the site limits embeds. A reader who wants a firm guarantee can block scripts, refuse optional cookies, or browse in a private window.

Changes to This Cookies Policy

This Cookies Policy may change when a feature, a vendor, or a law changes. The revised text appears on this page with a new date at the top, and a material change is noted in a short paragraph at the start of the page for at least 30 days. The rules for using the site are set out in the Terms and Conditions. A reader can request an earlier version from info@vinnumber.us. Continued use of the site after an update means the new text applies to later visits. The current version is dated October 20, 2026.