Privacy Policy - aerotally

Hi there! Welcome to aerotally, the planespotter's companion. I want to assure you that your privacy is paramount, and I'll explain exactly how I handle your information.

aerotally is designed with privacy at its core. There is no account, no sign-in, and no personal information to provide. You can start using the app immediately, completely anonymously. I have no server that stores anything about you, and there is no database anywhere with your name on it.

Your Logbook Stays Yours

Everything you create in aerotally - your sightings, photos, notes, tags, badges, spot sessions and saved spots - is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework.

If you have iCloud enabled, this data syncs across your own devices through Apple's CloudKit private database. That is entirely within Apple's ecosystem, encrypted and tied to your Apple Account. I cannot see it, query it, or recover it. It is your iCloud, not mine.

Location

aerotally asks for location access "while using the app". It uses your location for three things:

• Working out which airport you're nearest to, so the Now tab can show the right runway and weather
• Recognising when you're standing at a known spotting location, so a session or a sighting can be attributed to it
• Fetching live aircraft overhead where you actually are

The first two happen entirely on your device - the airport list, runway data and spotting locations are all bundled with the app, so nothing leaves your phone to work out where you are.

The third one does involve a network request. To show live traffic overhead, aerotally sends your coordinates to the community ADS-B service adsb.lol, which returns the aircraft currently within a few kilometres. This request carries no account, no device identifier and nothing that links it to you - just a latitude, a longitude and a radius. It is not stored by aerotally and I never see it.

Most of the time aerotally uses a deliberately coarse location setting (accurate to roughly a kilometre) to save battery. It only switches to precise location on the two screens that need to know which spot you're standing at, and switches back when you leave them.

If you decline location access, aerotally still works - you just pick your airport manually instead of having it found for you.

Photos

You can attach photos to a sighting. aerotally asks for Photos access so it can display your chosen images at full resolution. Photos you attach are stored with your logbook on your device (and sync through your own iCloud, if enabled). They are never uploaded to me or to anyone else, and aerotally does not read your photo library beyond the images you explicitly pick.

The Services aerotally Talks To

aerotally is not much use offline, so it does make network requests. Here is every one of them, and exactly what is sent:

• adsb.lol - a latitude, longitude and search radius, to fetch live aircraft nearby. Sent for the airport you're viewing, or for your own position when you're looking at what's overhead.
• aviationweather.gov - an airport ICAO code (for example YSSY), to fetch the current METAR weather report.
• api.andrecallus.com - an airport ICAO code, to work out which runway is currently in use. My own small service. It receives the airport code and nothing else - no identifier, no location, no logbook data - and keeps no record tied to you.
• adsbdb.com - an aircraft registration or Mode-S hex code, to look up the aircraft type when the bundled database doesn't have it.
• Wikipedia - an aircraft type name, to fetch a short summary of the type.
• GitHub - to download updated airport, runway and aircraft databases. This is a plain file download; nothing about you is sent.
• Apple WeatherKit - handled by Apple on your behalf. Apple's own privacy terms apply.

None of these requests carry an account, a user ID, an advertising identifier or anything else that identifies you or your device. Nothing from your logbook is ever transmitted anywhere.

No Analytics, No Tracking, No Ads

I don't use analytics tools, crash reporters, advertising SDKs, or any third-party tracking services. aerotally does not track you across apps or websites, and there is nothing in it that could. If something breaks, I won't know unless you tell me. That's a trade-off I'm willing to make for your privacy.

Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight and Widgets

aerotally offers Siri actions, Shortcuts and Home Screen widgets, and makes your sightings searchable in Spotlight. All of this is handled on-device by iOS. Your sightings are indexed locally so you can find them from Spotlight; that index doesn't leave your device.

Data Storage and Deletion

There is no storage on my server, because there is nothing to store. If you delete aerotally from your device - and remove its data from iCloud, if you had sync enabled - all your data is gone. There's no account to delete, because there never was one to begin with. You can export your logbook to CSV from the app at any time before you do.

Third-Party Content and Data

Aircraft details, weather reports, live traffic and airport data come from third-party and community sources. I make no warranty about their accuracy or availability, and aerotally is emphatically not a navigation, flight-planning or air-safety tool. When you open an external link, that website's own tracking and privacy policies apply.

Age Requirements

aerotally is intended for users aged 13 and older. Since I don't collect any information, I can't verify ages, but I trust you to use the app responsibly.

Bug Reports and Support

If you encounter issues or want to provide feedback, you can email me at [email protected]. When you do, I'll only see what you choose to include in your email. I won't automatically collect device information, logs, or any other data unless you explicitly provide it.

Fair Use of the Service

aerotally leans on free and community-run services. Please don't attempt to overwhelm them with excessive requests or use the app in ways that could harm their availability for other spotters.

Changes to This Policy

I may update this privacy policy from time to time. If I make significant changes, I'll notify you through the app or on my website. Your continued use of aerotally after such changes means you accept the updated policy.

I hope you find aerotally useful and trustworthy. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you for choosing aerotally!

- aerotally

Email: [email protected]
Website: andrecallus.com/aerotally/index.html

Last updated: 8 August 2026