Automotive

Historia Szkód - browser extension

Browser extension that checks a vehicle's damage history in the background - right on the listing page, with no VIN copying or tab switching

1 click VIN number detection

3 browsers

Project brief

Key context

Checking damage history meant leaving the listing, copying the VIN into HistoriaSzkod.pl, and waiting for a result. We extended the client's service with a plugin that does it in the background.

Industry: Automotive
Project type: Browser extension
Cooperation: Datazen

1 click VIN number detection

Technologies

JavaScript

Chrome API Manifest V3

The challenge

The starting point

Time-consuming verification process

Users had to manually copy VIN numbers from various car listing services and enter them into the Historia Szkód system

Low service adoption

The cumbersome process discouraged potential users from using the vehicle history verification platform

Switching between tabs

The need to open new browser tabs and switch between different services reduced user comfort

Approach

What we did structurally

VIN detection

The plugin automatically scans page content and detects vehicle VIN numbers without any user intervention.

Instant verification

With a single click, the user can check a vehicle's damage history without leaving the current page.

Non-invasive integration

The extension runs in the background without affecting the operation of visited websites.

Process

How did the delivery process look?

Requirements analysis

We started with a detailed analysis of the most popular car listing services in Poland and how VIN numbers are presented.

Number detection and API integration

We implemented a VIN number recognition algorithm in various formats and contexts. We integrated the plugin with the Historia Szkód platform API.

Publication and support

After passing Google's review process, the plugin was published on the Chrome Web Store and is publicly available to all users.

Building a product with a similar challenge?

Describe the project

Outcome

Faster vehicle history verification

90% reduction in verification time

Checking a car takes a few seconds in the background - and the time saved compounds across a dozen or more listings.

New channel for acquiring customers

A public extension in the Chrome Web Store is a permanent, measurable touchpoint with the HistoriaSzkod.pl brand and product.

Thanks to the Historia Szkód plugin, users can instantly check a vehicle's history without leaving the listing page.

Project context

About the project

The Historia Szkód plugin is a browser extension with which we expanded the HistoriaSzkod.pl service. It detects VIN numbers directly on listing pages and checks a vehicle’s damage history in the background - without leaving the listing, without copying the number, without waiting in a separate tab.

Previously, checking a single car meant several steps: leave the listing, open HistoriaSzkod.pl, paste the VIN, and wait for the result. When you’re browsing a dozen or more listings at once, that’s a lot of lost time and drop-offs halfway through. With the plugin the result appears instantly, in the context of the listing - the user gains time and flow, and the barrier to using the service disappears.

The VIN detection algorithm recognises numbers across different listing services - Otomoto, OLX, mobile.de - regardless of page structure.

Plugin as a new customer-acquisition channel

For Historia Szkód, the plugin isn’t just a convenience for existing users - it’s a new, measurable customer-acquisition channel. Publicly available in the Chrome Web Store, it reaches people at the exact moment of a purchase decision and shows the platform’s value in their own context. We measure the channel through installs, active use, and transitions to the platform.

Technical implementation

We built the plugin to the Manifest V3 standard - the current Chrome standard. The project was carried out in collaboration with Datazen. We support three browsers: Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. After deployment, we took over maintenance - responding to changes in listing service APIs and browser updates.