Privacy Policy

We built PlaneCollector with privacy as a first principle. This page explains exactly what data is collected, why, and what never leaves your device.

Last updated: August 2026

1. What we collect

PlaneCollector stores your captures, scores, and collection data locally on your device (SQLite). If you sign in with Google, the following data is synced to our cloud database (Supabase) solely to power the global leaderboard and to maintain your subscription status:

Google account ID (anonymised user identifier)
Display name and profile picture URL (from Google Sign-In)
Total capture count and score
Subscription tier and status (premium or basic)

No photos ever leave your device. All capture details and images are stored locally only.

2. Camera

Photos are taken to identify aircraft. AI inference runs entirely on-device using Google ML Kit — no image data is ever transmitted. Photos are stored only in the app's local directory and are never uploaded to any server.

3. Location (GPS)

Your location is used to find aircraft near you via the OpenSky Network. Only a bounding box (a rectangular area, not your exact coordinates) is sent in the request. Your location is never stored on any server and is never tied to your account.

4. Third-party services

Service	Data sent	Purpose
OpenSky Network	Lat/lon bounding box	Find nearby aircraft
hexdb.io	ICAO24 hex code	Look up registration & type
FlightRadar24	Aircraft registration	Fetch route data
Planespotters.net	Registration + email (User-Agent)	Aircraft photos — opt-in only
Google Sign-In	Account ID, display name, profile picture URL	Authentication & leaderboard identity
Supabase	Score, capture count, subscription status	Leaderboard & subscription sync (when signed in)
Apple App Store / Google Play	Purchase receipt (processed by Apple/Google)	In-app purchase verification
Wikimedia Commons	Aircraft type name string	Fetch generic type image

        Planespotters.net note: This feature is disabled by
        default. If you enable it in Settings, you provide an email address
        that is sent as a User-Agent header to Planespotters.net only —
        per their API terms. It is stored locally on your device and is
        never sent to any other service.
      

5. Ads & tracking

PlaneCollector uses Google AdMob to display rewarded ads (optional, in exchange for extra catches). AdMob may collect a device advertising ID and device information for ad personalisation, subject to Google's Privacy Policy. You can opt out of personalised ads in your device settings (Google → Ads → Opt out of Ads Personalisation). We do not use any other analytics, crash reporting, or telemetry SDK.

        What is never sent: user photos, precise GPS point,
        email to any service other than Planespotters.net (opt-in).
      

6. In-App Purchases & Payments

PlaneCollector offers optional in-app purchases (subscriptions and consumable items) processed entirely by Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). We never receive, store, or process your payment card details — all billing is handled by Apple or Google under their respective payment policies.

Upon a confirmed purchase, our server receives a purchase token or transaction ID from the platform solely to verify the purchase is genuine and to activate your subscription or consumable. This token is stored in our database (Supabase) linked to your account and is used only for subscription status checks. It is deleted when your account is deleted.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical measures to protect your data:

All communication between the app and our servers uses HTTPS/TLS encryption.
Cloud data is stored in Supabase (hosted on AWS), which provides encryption at rest and in transit.
Access to cloud data is restricted by Row-Level Security (RLS) — you can only read and modify your own data.
Server-side functions run in an isolated environment with no access to other users' data.
Photos and captures never leave your device and are therefore not subject to network-level risk.

No system is perfectly secure. If you believe there has been a security incident, please contact us immediately at deikoo@msn.com.

8. Data retention

All local data (captures, photos, settings) is stored on your device and removed when you uninstall the app. Cloud data (score, capture count) is deleted on request — see the contact section below.

9. Children

PlaneCollector is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided data, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page will be revised. Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact & data deletion

Questions about this policy, or want to delete your account and all associated cloud data? Send us an email and we will respond within 30 days.