← Back to vatAlert

Privacy Policy

Effective date: 5 July 2026

1. Who we are

vatAlert is developed and operated by Matteo Ferraroni (sole proprietorship, Florida, USA). You can reach us at support@vatalert.app.

vatAlert is an independent mobile application for the VATSIM virtual flight-simulation network and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to VATSIM in any way.

2. What data we collect

When you install and use vatAlert, the following information is stored on our servers:

  • Expo push token — issued by Expo / Apple APNs / Google FCM when you grant notification permission. Used exclusively to deliver push notifications to your device.
  • VATSIM callsign — the callsign you enter during onboarding, used to look up your current position in the public VATSIM data feed.
  • Alert preferences — your chosen alert radius, facility-type filters (DEL/GND/TWR/APP/CTR/ATIS), watchlist station prefixes, and notification settings.
  • Alert history — a short log of recent push notifications sent to your device, used to avoid sending duplicate alerts for the same ATC session. Records expire automatically after 24 hours.
  • Locale — your preferred language (English or Italian), used to localise push notification text.
  • Device platform — iOS or Android, used for platform-specific notification formatting.

A randomly generated device ID and API key are created locally and stored on your device to authenticate requests. These are not linked to any personal identity.

3. What we do NOT collect

  • No GPS or device location. Your geographic position is determined entirely from the public VATSIM data feed (which shows your pilot callsign's reported coordinates). vatAlert never requests location permission.
  • No account or email address — unless you voluntarily submit the feedback form on our website (see Section 5).
  • No names, photos, contacts, or any other personal identifiers.

4. How we use your data

We use the collected data solely to:

  • Match controllers in the VATSIM feed against your callsign and preferences.
  • Deliver push notifications for ATC online/offline events you have subscribed to.
  • Suppress duplicate notifications for the same ATC session (deduplication).
  • Render push notification text in your chosen language.

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your data with third parties except as described in Section 6 (Third-party services).

5. Feedback form (website)

The feedback form on vatalert.app is optional and asks for a message and an optional email address. If you provide an email, we will use it solely to reply to your feedback and will not add it to any mailing list or share it with third parties. Submissions are stored in our database with an automatic 90-day expiry.

6. Third-party services

6.1 Google AdMob (advertising)

The free tier of vatAlert displays non-intrusive banner ads served by Google AdMob. On iOS, ads are served in non-personalized mode to avoid requesting App Tracking Transparency permission. On Android, AdMob may serve personalized ads in accordance with Google's consent framework unless you opt out.

AdMob collects device identifiers and usage data as described in Google's Privacy Policy . You can opt out of personalized advertising at any time via your device's settings (iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising; Android: Settings → Google → Ads).

6.2 RevenueCat (subscriptions)

Pro subscriptions ($1.99/month) are processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Play Store) and managed via RevenueCat. RevenueCat receives a pseudonymous device ID and subscription status in order to grant or revoke the Pro entitlement. RevenueCat's privacy policy: revenuecat.com/privacy .

6.3 Expo Push Notification Service

Push notifications are routed through Expo's push notification service, which in turn delivers them via Apple APNs or Google FCM. Expo receives your push token and notification payload. Expo's privacy policy: expo.dev/privacy .

6.4 VATSIM public data feed

To determine your flight's position and nearby ATC, vatAlert's backend fetches VATSIM's public data feed approximately once per minute. This feed is publicly available and requires no authentication. We do not transmit any data to VATSIM.

7. Data retention and deletion

Your data is retained on our servers for as long as your device is registered. You can delete all data associated with your device at any time:

  • In-app: go to Settings → Reset app. This immediately deletes your device record, push token, preferences, and alert history from our servers.
  • By email: send a deletion request to support@vatalert.app. We will process it within 7 days.

Feedback form submissions are automatically purged after 90 days. Alert deduplication records expire after 24 hours.

8. Security

All API traffic is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Your API key is stored as a one-way hash on our servers and is never logged or displayed. We apply the principle of minimum necessary data collection.

9. Children's privacy

vatAlert is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU/EEA). We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has registered, contact us and we will delete the account.

10. Changes to this policy

If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will update the effective date above. Continued use of vatAlert after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email support@vatalert.app.