FAQ
Questions people ask first
Mostly variations on one question: what does the other person get to see?
The basics
What does the owner actually receive?
A notification saying what the problem is — for example that their car is blocking yours — plus your note if you added one, and the name ParkAlert generated for you. Nothing else about you travels with it.
Do I need to know who owns the car?
No, and you never find out. The plate is the only thing you need, and a lookup only tells you whether that plate is registered with ParkAlert.
What if the plate is not registered?
ParkAlert tells you so, immediately. There is no one to notify, so nothing is sent — you are not left waiting on a message that was never going to arrive.
Does the owner know I looked their plate up?
No. A lookup is not an event they see. They hear from you only when you choose to send an alert.
Privacy
Can the other person get my phone number?
No. Numbers are never exchanged, in a message or in a call. Calls are relayed inside the app, so there is nothing in a call log to dial back.
What name do they see?
One ParkAlert generates for you, like “Quiet Falcon”. Your real name, email and phone number are never shown to another user.
Can someone tell which cars are mine?
No. Registering a plate makes it reachable; it does not publish that the vehicle belongs to you. Even the person alerting you does not learn that.
Your vehicles
Why would I register my own car?
So the next person who needs you to move — or who spots your lights left on — can tell you in a few seconds, without a note under the wiper and without your number.
Does the plate have to be typed exactly?
Spaces and dashes do not matter; plates are stored without them. Type what is printed on the plate and it will match.
How many vehicles can I register?
One on the free plan, up to 3 with Premium and up to 20 with Premium Plus. The plans page compares everything else each plan includes.
What happens if I remove a vehicle?
People stop being able to reach you about that plate straight away.
Your car's paperwork and plans
What is the vehicle vault?
A place in the app for the papers that come with a car — service bills, fuel receipts, insurance, registration, warranties and manuals — filed under the vehicle they belong to. Premium includes 1 GB and Premium Plus 5 GB. Insurance, registration and warranty expiry dates get reminders 30 days before, 7 days before and on the day.
Can anyone else see my vault?
No. Vault documents are never shown to other users, and they are not something our support team can browse. They are kept in private storage and only open for you, through a link that works for a minute.
How do maintenance reminders work?
Add a tracker to your car for what you want to keep on top of — oil change, tyre rotation, brake service, air filter, battery, AC service, wheel alignment or coolant. Say how often it is due, by distance, by time or whichever comes first, when it was last done and, for distance, roughly how far you drive in a day. ParkAlert estimates the next due date and reminds you shortly before, on the day, and a week after if it is still not done. Updating the odometer now and then keeps the estimate honest.
How many things can I track per car?
One on Free, five on Premium and as many as you like on Premium Plus. On Free you see the estimate but get no reminders. If you move to a smaller plan, the trackers you already have keep working — only adding more waits.
Can I get reminders by email?
Yes. Each tracker has its own “Email me reminders” switch, separate from notifications, on Premium and Premium Plus. It needs a verified email address — the app asks you to add or confirm one with a six-digit code when you switch it on. Every email says which switch to turn off to stop them.
Does AI read my documents?
On Premium Plus, yes — each document you add is read by an AI model running on Cloudflare's network, to write a short summary and pick out details like the date, garage, odometer, work done and each line on a bill or receipt. Your documents are not used to train AI, and deleting a document deletes what was read from it.
What can I ask the assistant?
Anything about your own cars' history: when the oil or brake pads were last changed, what you spent on servicing this year, when the insurance runs out. It answers only from your vault and maintenance log — never from anyone else's — and shows the documents it used. Premium Plus includes 150 questions a month, and a question it could not answer is not counted.
I'm selling my car. How do I give the buyer its history?
Choose Export history on the car, or in the vault after you have marked it sold. You get one ZIP file with a summary page — the car, its oil changes and a list of its documents — and every document itself, ready to share. Your name, phone number, ID and any private notes you wrote are never included. Exporting is part of Premium and Premium Plus.
What happens to my documents if my plan ends?
Nothing is deleted. Your vault becomes read-only: you can still open, save and delete every document, and adding new ones waits until you subscribe again.
Can I switch between Premium and Premium Plus?
Yes, in the app. Moving up starts straight away and the store credits the rest of your current period. Moving down takes effect at your next renewal, so you keep what you paid for until then and are never billed for both.
Safety and conduct
Someone is misusing this. What can I do?
Block them and they can never message or call you again, and report the conversation so it can be reviewed. Reports cover harassment, spam, inappropriate content and impersonation.
Can I stop a conversation once the problem is solved?
Yes — mark it resolved. You will both still be able to read it, but neither of you can send anything new.
Can someone message me out of nowhere?
No. A conversation only exists because one of you sent an alert about a specific vehicle. There is no directory and no way to start a chat with a stranger.
What if I alert the same person again, about another car?
If you still have an open conversation with them, the new alert continues in it rather than starting a second one, and the thread notes which vehicle it is now about. Once a conversation has been resolved, a new alert starts a fresh one.
Where it works
Which countries is ParkAlert available in?
It is opening country by country, starting in Qatar. Where contacting owners, messaging or verification is not enabled yet, the app says so plainly rather than letting a request fail.
What languages does it speak?
Translations are provided by ParkAlert and update without an app release, so new languages arrive without you having to update anything.
Why does calling ask me to verify first?
A voice call is a bigger ask than a message, so it is limited to people who have confirmed their identity. The document you send is used only for that check and is never shown to another user.
Not answered here?
The privacy page goes through what ParkAlert holds, what it shows and what it never shares — feature by feature.