AirAware Map Privacy Policy
Last updated: [1 October 2026 – set to the day you publish]
In short
- We collect what we need to run your account, show you the map, check the weather and let pilots message each other.
- Your precise location is read from your device only when you use a feature that needs it. We do not keep a history of where you have been. The only locations we store are flight plan sites you choose to save.
- We do not sell your data, show adverts or use advertising or analytics trackers.
- You can ask us to access, correct or delete your data at any time.
1. Who we are
AirAware is run by [Legal name of the business, for example Airtech Solutions Ltd], [registered address] (“we”, “us”). We are the data controller for the personal data described here.
[ICO registration number, if registered]
Contact us about privacy at [privacy contact email].
This policy covers the AirAware Map app (the website version and the iOS and Android apps), this website and the sign-up page and the emails we send you about your account. It does not cover other websites we link to (see section 6).
2. What we collect and why
| Information | What it is | Why we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Email address, password (stored only in scrambled, hashed form), messaging username, plan (Free or Pro), account status, the dates you joined and last used the app. | To create and secure your account, sign you in, send confirmation and password-reset emails and apply your plan. |
| Subscription | If you subscribe to Pro: the email you paid with, plan, subscription status, renewal date and Stripe customer and subscription reference numbers. We never see your card details. | To give you Pro features and let you cancel or renew. |
| Devices | A random device identifier, the device type and a general name such as “iPhone” or “Windows desktop”, and when it was last used. | To apply the limit of two devices per account and to stop accounts being shared. |
| Your location | Your device’s position, read only when you use “My location”, Fly Now, the map’s location marker or a flight plan, and only if you allow it on your device. You can also type a place or drop a pin instead. | To show you on the map, run airspace and weather checks for your position and fill in flight plan locations. We do not store this position, except in a flight plan you save. |
| Flight plans | Site name, location, dates and times, maximum height and notes you enter. | To show your planned flights on the map. Other signed-in pilots can see them (see below). |
| Equipment | The drones you add (name, weight and wind limits you enter). | To personalise weather and fly / no-fly guidance. |
| Messages | Messages you send to other pilots, plus any block or report you make. | To deliver messages and to keep pilots safe from abuse. |
| Feedback and bug reports | What you write, linked to your account. | To fix problems and improve the app. |
| Usage counts | How many Fly Now and Weather checks you have used this month. | To apply the monthly allowance on the Free plan. |
| Error reports | Sent automatically when something goes wrong: the error message and technical detail, the screen you were on, the app version, your platform (web, iOS or Android) and an internal account identifier. We remove the query part of web addresses so locations are not included. | To find and fix faults and monitor reliability. |
| Admin records | A log of actions our administrators take on accounts (for example changing a plan or removing a device). | To keep an accountable record and handle support and moderation. |
| Technical data | Your IP address and device or browser details, which our hosting and service providers process in the normal course of delivering the app and keeping it secure. | To deliver the service and protect against abuse. |
What other pilots can see
When you save a flight plan, other signed-in AirAware pilots can see it on the live map: your username, the site name, the area (shown as a circle of about 1 km), the date and time, the maximum height and the status. They can send you a message from it. Messages themselves are private between the two people involved.
Reports and moderation
If someone reports a message, our administrators can read the conversation between the two people involved so they can decide what to do. Otherwise we do not read your messages.
Storage on your device
The app keeps a small amount of information on your device so it works smoothly: your sign-in session, a copy of your equipment and flight plans, your device identifier and your settings. This is essential to the service. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies or similar trackers.
3. Our legal bases
- Contract: running your account, the map, weather, Fly Now, flight plans, messaging and your subscription.
- Legitimate interests: keeping the service secure, limiting account sharing, finding and fixing faults, and moderating abuse. We balance this against your rights and keep what we collect to a minimum.
- Consent: reading your device’s location. You are asked by your device and can withdraw at any time in its settings.
- Legal obligation: where the law requires us to keep or share information.
4. How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Account, equipment, plan and subscription records | While your account is open, then deleted when you ask us to delete it (we may keep limited records needed for tax, fraud prevention or legal claims). |
| Messages | Deleted automatically after 30 days, unless they are part of a report still being reviewed. |
| Flight plans | Removed automatically once the flight has ended, been completed or been cancelled. |
| Devices | Removed automatically if not used for 90 days. |
| Error reports | Up to 90 days after the error was last seen. |
| Admin records | Up to 180 days. |
| Usage counts | Kept with your account. |
| Feedback and bug reports | Until we have dealt with them and no longer need them. |
5. Who we share it with
We use these providers to run AirAware. They act on our instructions, apart from the map and weather services, which receive the limited information shown.
| Provider | What for | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, sign-in, file storage and background functions. Our data is hosted in the EU (Paris). | Everything in section 2 that we store. |
| Netlify and Cloudflare | Hosting the web version of the app and this website, and serving the map data files. | Your IP address and browser details when you load the app or a map file. |
| Stripe | Taking and managing Pro subscription payments. | Your email, payment details (entered with Stripe, not us) and subscription details. |
| Cloudflare Turnstile | Stopping automated sign-ups on our website. | Your IP address and browser details when you sign up. |
| Open-Meteo | Weather forecasts. | The coordinates of the place you check. |
| OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) | Looking up place names and addresses. | The coordinates or place you search for, and your IP address. |
| Our email provider | Sending confirmation and password-reset emails. | Your email address and the message. |
We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect people’s safety or rights, or as part of a sale or reorganisation of the business (you would be told).
We do not sell your personal data.
6. Links to other sites
The app links to CoverDrone for drone insurance quotes. If you follow it, you leave AirAware and CoverDrone’s own privacy policy applies. We may earn a commission if you buy, and we do not give CoverDrone any of your data.
7. Transfers outside the UK
Our main database is in the EU. Some providers above (for example Netlify, Stripe and Cloudflare) may process data outside the UK and EEA. Where they do, we rely on safeguards the law recognises, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or addendum, or an adequacy decision.
8. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your data;
- correct anything that is wrong (you can change your username and equipment in the app);
- delete your data and close your account;
- restrict or stop us using your data in some cases, or object to our using it for our legitimate interests;
- give you your data in a portable format; and
- withdraw consent where we rely on it, for example by turning off location in your device settings.
To use any of these, email [privacy contact email] from the address on your account. We will reply within one month. If you are not happy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
9. Keeping your data safe
Data is encrypted in transit. Passwords are stored hashed. Each account can only read its own records, apart from the flight plan information other pilots are meant to see, and administrator access is limited to people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password. If a breach puts your rights at risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.
10. Children
AirAware is for drone pilots and is not meant for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect their data. Registering a drone as an operator with the CAA requires you to be 18 or over. If you think a child has given us data, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Guidance, not decisions about you
Fly Now, the weather view and the “can I fly” guidance give general information from public data. They do not make legal or automated decisions about you, and you remain responsible for checking the rules and conditions before you fly.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as AirAware changes. We will change the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you in the app or by email.