Privacy Policy

1. Overview

ADSBiq is a community-powered ADS-B aggregator network operated by Sky Power Services LLC, a Florida limited liability company (the "Data Controller"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices. We are committed to collecting only what is necessary to operate the network and to being transparent about our practices.

For privacy inquiries or data requests, contact the Data Controller at: [email protected].

1a. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your data under the following lawful bases (GDPR Art. 6):

• Consent: When you run our install script and register as a feeder, you consent to the collection of the data described below.
• Legitimate interest: We process ADS-B data, connection metadata, and server logs as necessary for the legitimate operation of the network, including data quality filtering, abuse prevention, and network health monitoring.
• Contract performance: Processing feeder registrations and providing API access as described in our Terms of Use.

2. Information We Collect

2a. ADS-B Aircraft Data

Our core data consists of ADS-B transmissions broadcast openly by aircraft on the 1090 MHz radio frequency. This data includes aircraft transponder codes (hex/ICAO24), callsigns, positions, altitudes, speeds, and squawk codes. These are unencrypted public radio broadcasts that anyone with a receiver can pick up. We generally do not consider ADS-B aircraft data to be personal data, as it pertains to aircraft and is broadcast publicly. However, in certain contexts (such as private aircraft ownership), such data may be associated with individuals.

2b. Feeder Information

When you register as a feeder, we collect:

• Name or alias (optional; defaults to your device hostname if not provided)
• Email address (optional; used for account communication only — we do not require email for any functionality)
• Receiver location (latitude, longitude, altitude) for MLAT calculations and coverage mapping
• Feeder UUID (system-generated identifier, stored on your device at /etc/adsbiq-uuid)
• IP addresses (IPv4 and/or IPv6, recorded at registration and updated via periodic heartbeat signals)
• Connection metadata (last seen timestamp, message rates, aircraft counts, positions contributed)

Your receiver location is used for multilateration processing and internal coverage analysis. We do not publish your precise home coordinates on the public site unless you explicitly opt in. We take reasonable measures to protect feeder location data, but no system can guarantee absolute security.

2c. Location Auto-Discovery

During installation, the feeder script may read configuration files from other ADS-B feeder software on your device (such as readsb, dump1090-fa, PiAware, FlightRadar24, RadarBox, or similar) to auto-detect your receiver's geographic coordinates. This avoids requiring you to manually enter coordinates. In interactive installations, you are prompted before any configuration files are read. You may skip this by passing --no-location-scan to the install script, or by setting your location manually on the ADSBiq website. No data from other feeder services beyond latitude, longitude, and altitude is read or transmitted.

2d. Heartbeat and Connectivity Data

Your feeder sends a lightweight heartbeat signal to our server approximately every 5 minutes. This contains only your feeder UUID and originates from your IP address. We use this to determine whether your feeder is online, update your connection status, and trigger optional offline notifications. The heartbeat does not contain ADS-B data, location, or any other payload.

2e. Server Logs

Our servers automatically log IP addresses, request timestamps, URLs accessed, and user-agent strings. These logs are used for security monitoring, abuse prevention, and debugging. Logs are retained for no more than 90 days.

3. How We Use Information

• Operate the network: Aggregate ADS-B data from feeders, perform MLAT calculations, serve data via API and live map.
• Provide aircraft data: We aggregate ADS-B data and merge FAA flight plan routes to provide useful data to API consumers.
• Maintain security: Detect abuse, enforce rate limits, and protect the network from unauthorized access.
• Communicate with feeders: Send setup instructions, service updates, or respond to support requests (only if you provided an email). Email alerts (watchlist matches, offline notifications) are only sent if you explicitly opt in via the checkbox on the join page or your feeder dashboard. You may withdraw consent at any time by unchecking the option.
• Feeder health notifications: If your feed goes offline for more than 10 minutes, we may send an alert via Discord (if you configured a webhook) and/or via ntfy.sh (if you opted in via the "Push Notifications" toggle on your feeder dashboard). ntfy.sh notifications are sent to a topic derived from a portion of your feeder UUID. No personal information is included — only your feeder name/alias and the offline duration. You may disable push notifications at any time from your dashboard.
• Automatic software updates: If you opt in (via the --enable-auto-update flag during installation), the feeder software performs a daily version check against our server and may download an updated feeder script over HTTPS. This transmits only an HTTP request to adsbiq.com/feed-version.txt; no feeder UUID or personal data is sent during the version check. You may disable this at any time (see Terms of Use, section 3b).

4. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information in these limited circumstances:

• Aggregated aircraft data: ADS-B data (aircraft positions, callsigns, etc.) is shared through our API and live map, which is the core purpose of the Service.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or court order.
• Service providers: We use standard hosting infrastructure (AWS, Cloudflare) which may process data on our behalf under their respective privacy policies. We also use ntfy.sh, an open-source push notification service, to deliver optional feeder health alerts. ntfy.sh receives only a topic identifier (derived from your feeder UUID) and the alert message content — no IP addresses, email, or location data is shared with ntfy.sh. ntfy.sh operates as a pass-through message relay and does not have a formal Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with ADSBiq. By subscribing to push notifications, you consent to this data flow.
• Notification services: If you configure a Discord webhook, offline and watchlist alerts are sent to your Discord channel via Discord's API. If you subscribe to push notifications, alerts are delivered via ntfy.sh, a third-party open-source notification service. In both cases, only your feeder name/alias and alert content are transmitted — no location, IP address, or email is shared with these services.

5. What We Do Not Collect

We believe in data minimization. ADSBiq does not collect:

• Which other feeder networks you use — the install script detects other feeder software on your device for local display during installation only. This information is never transmitted to or stored on our servers. Our database schema has no column for this data.
• Contents of configuration files belonging to other feeder software beyond geographic coordinates
• Hardware identifiers, serial numbers, or device fingerprints
• Operating system details, installed packages, or filesystem information
• Any data from your ADS-B receiver beyond the standard Beast protocol output

6. Data Retention

• Feeder accounts: Retained while your feeder is active and for 90 days after disconnection. You may request deletion at any time by contacting [email protected].
• ADS-B position data: Real-time data is transient (held in Redis for seconds). Historical position archives are retained in Parquet format indefinitely for research and analysis.
• Server logs: Retained for up to 90 days, then automatically purged.

7. Your Rights and Choices

• Stop feeding: You may disconnect your receiver at any time with no consequences.
• Delete your account: Use the "Delete My Data" button on your feeder dashboard to instantly and permanently erase your feeder registration, personal data, watchlist, and alert history. Alternatively, contact [email protected].
• Data access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you by contacting [email protected].
• Corrections: You may request corrections to inaccurate personal data.

For EU/EEA residents: You have additional rights under the GDPR, including the right to data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

8. Cookies and Tracking

We use minimal session cookies for site functionality. We do not use advertising trackers, analytics cookies, or third-party tracking pixels. The live map (tar1090) may use local storage for map preferences.

9. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including HTTPS encryption, access controls, and secure infrastructure. However, no system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children

The Service is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us for removal.

11. International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the US, including from the European Economic Area (EEA), your data will be transferred to and processed in the US.

For EEA residents, we rely on the following mechanisms for lawful data transfer:

• Consent: By running the feeder install script and registering your receiver, you explicitly consent to the transfer of your data to the United States for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy (GDPR Art. 49(1)(a)).
• Applicable frameworks: We rely on adequacy decisions and data transfer frameworks adopted by the European Commission, including the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where applicable.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by uninstalling the feeder software and requesting deletion of your account via [email protected].

EU representative: As a small-scale service whose processing of EU personal data is occasional and not large-scale, ADSBiq qualifies for the exemption under GDPR Art. 27(2)(a). We do not currently maintain an EU-based representative. If you are an EU/EEA resident with data protection concerns, please contact us directly at [email protected] or lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.

13. Contact

Privacy questions or data requests may be directed to: [email protected]