Privacy policy

Who we are

HeliTracker is a product of MNR Developers, based in Westchester County, New York. Questions about this policy can be sent through the contact form.

What the device collects

The device listens to ambient sound continuously and analyzes it on the device itself. Audio is processed in memory and discarded within seconds. It is never stored, transmitted, or listened to by anyone. When the device recognizes a helicopter, it saves a detection record containing the time, the sound level in decibels, and the flight information returned by a public flight-tracking lookup: the aircraft's registration, callsign, operator, type, altitude, heading, and position. The device's own location is stored so detections can be placed on a map. The device has no camera and does not record speech.

What the app collects

To use the app you create an account with an email address, Sign in with Apple, or Google Sign-In. We store your email address and a unique account identifier, along with the device or devices paired to your account. If you allow notifications, we store a push notification token so alerts can be delivered to your phone. If you allow location access, it is used to show your position relative to detections on the map; it is not stored on our servers. The app does not use advertising identifiers or third-party analytics.

Where data is stored

Accounts and detection records are stored in Google Firebase (Firestore, Firebase Authentication, and Firebase Cloud Messaging for notifications) in the United States. Flight information is retrieved from a third-party flight-data provider at the moment of each detection; the provider receives the device's approximate location in order to return nearby aircraft, and nothing about you. Website contact forms are processed by Netlify Forms. Each of these providers processes data under its own privacy policy.

Who can see your data

You can see the detection records from devices paired to your account. MNR Developers staff with administrator access can see all detection records and account information across every device, in order to operate the service, diagnose problems, build aggregate reports, and support customers. Administrator access is limited to people who need it, and we do not use it to share any individual account's information with third parties.

How we use it

To show you detections from your device, send you alerts, let you export your records, and keep the service running. Detection records may be aggregated with those from other devices to show traffic patterns across an area. Aggregated data does not identify individual account holders.

Sharing

We do not sell personal information. We share it only with the service providers named above, as needed to run the app, or when required by law. Detection records you choose to export or share are under your control once exported.

Your choices

You can revoke notification and location permissions in iOS Settings at any time. You can delete your account from inside the app under Settings; this removes your account, email address, push token, and device pairings, and revokes any Sign in with Apple or Google credential linked to it. You can also request deletion through the contact form. Deletion is completed within 30 days. Detection records produced by a device are not personal information and may be retained after an account is deleted, without any link to the former account holder.

Children

The app is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Data retention

Account information is kept until you delete your account. Push tokens are replaced whenever the app registers a new one and removed on account deletion. Detection records are kept for as long as the service operates so that long-term traffic patterns can be shown.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask what personal information we hold about you, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, and ask for a copy in a portable format. Use the contact form and we will respond within 30 days. We do not sell or share personal information for advertising and do not discriminate against anyone for exercising these rights.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top will be updated and material changes will be noted in the app.