Automated License Plate Recognition Privacy and Use Policy
Adopted: June 15, 2026
Effective and published: August 4, 2026
Last updated: August 4, 2026
Flo's Express Car Wash ("Flo's") uses automated license plate recognition technology, also referred to as an ALPR system, to recognize vehicles associated with Flo's Unlimited Wash Club memberships at 4119 E. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90221.
An ALPR system uses cameras and computer-based technology to capture images of vehicles and their license plates and convert the plate numbers into computer-readable information that can be compared with Flo's membership records.
This policy is published under California Civil Code sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55. A printed copy is posted at our pay stations and is available on request.
Information collected
When a vehicle reaches one of our pay stations, a camera captures an image of the vehicle. The image includes the vehicle and part of the surrounding area, so it may include people, other vehicles, and other surroundings that happen to be in the frame.
From that image, the ALPR system processes and stores:
- the image of the vehicle and its license plate
- the letters and numbers displayed on the license plate
- the make, model, and color of the vehicle, as identified by the system
- the date and time the vehicle was recognized
- which pay station recognized the vehicle
- the membership record associated with the license plate
- system-generated information relating to a successful, unsuccessful, or potentially inaccurate plate match
Every vehicle that reaches a pay station is photographed and read, including vehicles with no account or membership.
Flo's does not use these images to identify people, and Flo's does not use facial recognition. We use them only to recognize a vehicle and match it to a membership record.
The system recognizes vehicles. It does not independently obtain a vehicle owner's name, home address, driver's license information, or vehicle-registration records from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
In this policy, all of the information listed above is referred to as "ALPR information."
Authorized purpose
Flo's uses ALPR information for the limited purpose of recognizing vehicles associated with car wash memberships and administering the Unlimited Wash Club.
ALPR information may be used to:
- confirm that a vehicle is associated with an active membership
- permit eligible member vehicles to access membership wash services
- reduce the need for members to present a physical membership card or barcode
- prevent unauthorized membership use, plate sharing, and fraud
- detect and prevent abuse of promotional and introductory offers
- investigate or correct an inaccurate vehicle or membership match
- respond to membership questions, disputes, and customer service requests
- maintain membership and operational records
- respond to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other lawful legal process, and to investigate suspected criminal activity at our facility
Flo's does not use the ALPR system to monitor a customer's movements outside Flo's Express Car Wash. We do not use ALPR information to build profiles of behavior or for any purpose not listed above.
Authorized access and required training
Access to ALPR information is limited to the roles below, and only as needed to perform that role.
| Role | Can look up a plate or membership | Can export, bulk download, or search history |
|---|---|---|
| Owner / Operator | Yes | Yes |
| General Manager | Yes | Yes |
| Site Manager | Yes | Yes |
| Shift Lead / Cashier | Yes, at the point of sale, one record at a time, only to serve the customer present | No |
| Point-of-sale provider (NxtWash, LLC) | Yes, as our service provider, to host, operate, support, and maintain the system | Yes, as required to deliver and support the system |
| Membership and messaging provider (Rinsed, Inc.) | Yes, as our service provider, for the data described under Sharing and disclosure | Yes, as required to deliver and support the service |
No other employee, contractor, or third party is authorized to access ALPR information.
Training
Before being granted access, every employee is trained on this policy and signs Flo's Employee Data Confidentiality Acknowledgment. Training covers proper use of the ALPR system, customer privacy and confidentiality, accurate handling of license plate and membership information, account security, restrictions on searching, accessing, sharing, or disclosing ALPR information, rules for handling any exported file, and how to report suspected unauthorized access or misuse. Training is repeated annually and whenever this policy changes materially. The General Manager keeps the signed acknowledgments and training records.
Employees and contractors may not access or use ALPR information for personal reasons or for any unauthorized purpose. A single unauthorized lookup is grounds for discipline up to and including termination.
Exports
Any exported file containing plates or customer records is confidential under this policy. Exports are made only for a documented business purpose, kept only on Flo's-controlled systems, never stored on personal devices or sent to personal email accounts, deleted when the purpose is complete, and logged by the General Manager.
Security, access records, and monitoring
Flo's maintains reasonable administrative, technical, operational, and physical safeguards to protect ALPR information from unauthorized access, destruction, modification, use, or disclosure. These include a named individual account for every person with access with no shared logins, role-based permissions limited according to job responsibilities as set out above, password-protected accounts with multi-factor authentication on administrative accounts where the system supports it, encrypted transmission and storage by our providers under their access controls, immediate revocation of access when a person's role changes or their employment ends, security requirements applied to our service providers, and procedures for responding to suspected unauthorized access.
Access records
Access to ALPR information is recorded where our systems and our service providers' systems support it. Where records are available, they identify who accessed the information, when, what was searched, and for what purpose.
Audit
The General Manager reviews all active accounts and their permission levels at least quarterly and removes any account no longer required. Available access records are reviewed at the same interval to identify unauthorized access, searches that do not correspond to a transaction or a documented customer request, potential security incidents, or other violations of this policy. The result of each review, and any corrective action taken, is recorded and kept for two years. This policy and our vendor agreements are reviewed at least annually for continued compliance with California law.
Suspected misuse or unauthorized access may result in suspension of system access, disciplinary action, contract termination, and referral to the appropriate authorities when warranted.
Breach
If Flo's or a service provider becomes aware of a breach of the security of ALPR information, we will notify affected individuals and any other party as required by California law, in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.
Sharing and disclosure
Flo's does not sell ALPR information. We do not disclose it to anyone in exchange for money or other valuable consideration.
ALPR information is shared with the following service providers, for the purposes stated and no others.
NxtWash, LLC, our point-of-sale provider. NxtWash stores and processes account, plate, image, and transaction data to deliver the point-of-sale system to us. Under our agreement, NxtWash's authorized service providers may process this data as needed to deliver that system. NxtWash may create and use de-identified, aggregated data, which cannot reasonably be used to identify you, for its own business purposes, including commercial purposes.
Rinsed, Inc., our membership and messaging provider. Rinsed receives customer account, transaction, and contact data from our point-of-sale system, including the license plate, in order to manage memberships and send service and marketing messages you have consented to receive. Under Rinsed's terms of service, Rinsed and its sub-processors may use customer data to operate and improve their services, may disclose it to third-party service providers and to third-party artificial intelligence tools used to deliver those services, and may use customer data to train artificial intelligence and machine learning models. Rinsed may also create and use aggregated data for its own purposes.
ALPR information may also be shared with authorized Flo's personnel assisting with a membership inquiry, dispute, fraud investigation, or technical issue; with another person when the customer directs or authorizes the disclosure; when reasonably necessary to protect Flo's, its customers, employees, property, or legal rights; and when required by a valid subpoena, court order, warrant, or other applicable legal obligation.
Telephone calls
Our inbound phone line is answered by an automated artificial intelligence assistant provided by Washbrands. That system is not connected to our point-of-sale system. It does not receive, access, or read back license plate numbers, membership records, or billing information. How calls are handled, including recording and consent, is described in our Privacy Policy at https://flosexpress.com/privacy.
Business transfers
If Flo's is sold, merged, or reorganized, or if substantially all of its assets are acquired, ALPR information may transfer to the acquiring party as part of that transaction.
Law enforcement
Flo's does not routinely provide ALPR information to law enforcement agencies. A law enforcement request is reviewed for legal validity before any information is disclosed, unless an emergency disclosure is permitted or required by law. We do not provide ALPR information to any law enforcement agency, immigration authority, or private data broker on a voluntary, bulk, or standing basis.
Service providers are authorized to process ALPR information only for approved business purposes and are required to maintain appropriate privacy and security protections. We do not authorize any provider to sell identifiable customer information.
Accuracy and corrections
License plate recognition technology may occasionally misread a plate because of lighting, camera angle, plate condition, temporary plates, obstructions, similar plate numbers, or other technical factors.
Flo's may use images, membership records, customer-provided information, and manual review to confirm or correct a plate match. Our staff verify the plate against the membership record before applying a membership or denying service.
Members should promptly notify Flo's when a license plate has been entered incorrectly, a vehicle or license plate has changed, a membership is recognizing the wrong vehicle, a vehicle is not being recognized correctly, or they believe their plate information has been associated with another account.
Flo's may temporarily restrict automated recognition while an inaccurate or disputed record is reviewed.
To prevent abuse of memberships, a customer-initiated change of the plate on a membership is limited to one change per twelve-month period. Corrections of Flo's own data entry errors do not count against that limit.
Retention and deletion
While your membership is active
ALPR information associated with an active Unlimited Wash Club membership is stored as part of Flo's membership records and retained for the duration of the membership.
After your membership ends
Flo's retains ALPR information indefinitely, unless you ask us to delete it.
We keep it for one reason: to recognize a vehicle that has held a membership before, so that introductory and promotional pricing is applied only to customers who have not already used it. Members regularly cancel and return, and without a lasting record we cannot tell a genuine new customer from a returning one.
Where it is stored
ALPR information is stored on systems operated by our service providers rather than on systems Flo's hosts. Retention for some categories of information is determined by those providers' systems.
Your right to request deletion
You may ask us to delete your ALPR information at any time. When you do, we will process your request with our service providers and tell you what has been deleted and what, if anything, we are unable to remove or are required to keep. We may keep a minimal record that a plate was associated with a membership or used a promotional offer, solely to prevent repeat use of introductory pricing and for no other purpose.
We may also retain specific records where reasonably necessary to complete a customer-requested transaction, resolve an open billing, membership, chargeback, insurance, or legal dispute, comply with accounting, tax, or legal record-keeping requirements, or establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim. Any such retention applies only to the specific records concerned, and only while the matter is open.
Review
The General Manager reviews retained ALPR information at least quarterly, processes any deletion requests received, confirms with each provider that requested deletions have been completed, and records the date and scope of each deletion. Backup copies held by our service providers are overwritten on those providers' normal backup cycles.
Customer choices
A license plate may be necessary for memberships that use automated vehicle recognition. A customer who does not want their plate used for automated recognition may contact Flo's to determine whether another available verification method can be used. Removing a license plate from an active membership may prevent the system from automatically recognizing the vehicle and may affect the customer's ability to use membership services.
You may also ask Flo's to tell you what ALPR information we hold about you, correct it, or delete it. We will not deny you service, charge you a different price, or give you a lower level of service because you exercised these rights.
Responsible custodian
The General Manager of Flo's Express Car Wash is the official custodian responsible for implementing this policy, managing authorized access, coordinating security reviews, responding to reported inaccuracies, and handling privacy inquiries.
Questions and correction requests
Customers may contact Flo's to ask questions about this policy, report an inaccurate plate record, or request that Flo's review, correct, or delete information associated with their membership.
Flo's Express Car Wash
Email: hello@flosexpress.com
Phone: 424-279-1021
Mailing address: 4119 E. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90221
Requests should include enough information to identify the applicable membership and vehicle. For security, Flo's may require reasonable verification before providing, correcting, or deleting information associated with a membership.
Changes to this policy
Flo's may update this policy. The current version is always posted at https://flosexpress.com/alpr-policy and at our facility. Material changes are reflected in the "Last updated" date at the top.
Published under California Civil Code sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55. Our general Privacy Policy, covering website use, membership accounts, text messages, and telephone calls, is available at https://flosexpress.com/privacy.