IFATC Companion — Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 29, 2026

Last updated: October 5, 2026

Applies to: the IFATC Companion applications for iOS / iPadOS (distributed on the Apple App Store) and for Android (distributed on Google Play, package com.h3consultingpartners.ifatccompanion), and to the optional Web Remote browser dashboard at web.ifatccompanion.com and the relay that serves it — together, "the App". "We", "us" and "our" mean the developer.

Published by: H3 Consulting Partners LLC

Privacy contact: [email protected]

Privacy at a glance

IFATC Companion is a deterministic, local-only air traffic control (ATC) companion for the flight simulator Infinite Flight. It is designed so that your data stays on your device and your local Wi-Fi network.

The one exception is Web Remote Mode, an optional feature that is off until you turn it on. While it is on, the App passes your simulated flight's state through a relay we operate to a browser you have paired with a one-time code. The relay holds a session in memory only, writes no flight data to disk or to its logs, keeps no message history, and deletes the session when it ends. See Section 3.14.

No account or login No database of your data Optional relay keeps nothing No AI / no LLM No analytics No advertising No tracking No advertising ID No location permission No data sold or shared

The App offers optional paid access to Live Connected Mode. Purchases are processed entirely by Apple (App Store in-app purchase) or Google (Google Play Billing); the developer never sees or stores your payment details. See Section 3.10.

This Privacy Policy explains what information the App accesses, how it is used, the limited circumstances in which any information leaves your device, and the third-party services the App relies on. It is written to meet the requirements of both stores: Apple's App Store Review Guidelines and App Privacy ("nutrition label") requirements, and Google Play's User Data policy and Data safety disclosures. The disclosures below are consistent with the Data safety section shown on the App's Google Play listing and with the App Privacy details shown on its App Store listing.

1. Who we are

IFATC Companion is published by H3 Consulting Partners LLC ("the developer"). We are the data controller for the purposes of this policy. If you have any questions about this policy or your privacy, contact us at the address in the Contact section below.

IFATC Companion is an independent companion app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Infinite Flight Corporation, the Infinite Flight Air Traffic Control (IFATC) program, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the OpenStreetMap Foundation, EUMETNET, NASA, VATSIM or the VATSpy Data Project, SimBrief or Navigraph, the vATIS project / datis.clowd.io, DigitalOcean, Apple Inc., or Google LLC.

2. Summary of data practices

The App does not collect, store, or transmit personally identifiable information to us or to any analytics, advertising, or tracking service, on either platform. Apart from the optional Web Remote relay described in (g), there is no developer-operated server, and we never receive your data. The App functions entirely on your device, except for a small set of narrowly scoped network activities described below: (a) a connection to Infinite Flight on your local Wi-Fi network; requests to free, public, keyless services for (b) aviation weather (METAR/TAF/PIREP/SIGMET reports), (c) radar and satellite imagery for the map area you are viewing, (d) real-world airport ATIS (D-ATIS) broadcasts, and (e) OpenStreetMap airport-surface geometry for the taxi map and routing; and (f) the store's own purchase and entitlement checks (Apple or Google); and (g) only while you have Web Remote Mode turned on, your simulated flight's state relayed through our server to your own browser and then discarded. None of these requests include an account, name, email, contact information, advertising identifier, device identifier, or your real-world location, and nothing is stored by us.

Google Play Data safety summary: the App does not share any user data with third parties, and in normal use it collects no data types in any Play category (location, personal info, financial info, health, messages, photos and videos, audio files, files and docs, calendar, contacts, app activity, web browsing, app info and performance, or device or other IDs). The only data that reaches a server we operate is the simulated flight state, callsign and button presses carried by the optional Web Remote Mode, which is user-initiated, encrypted in transit, processed only in memory to deliver it to your own browser, never stored, and never shared (Section 3.14). Every internet request the Android app makes uses HTTPS; cleartext traffic is disabled at the platform level by the app's network security configuration. Because nothing is retained, there is no collected data to delete — see Section 8 for how to remove everything stored on your device.

3. Information the App accesses and how it is handled

Where behavior differs between platforms, the paragraph is tagged iOS or Android. Untagged text applies to both.

3.1 Flight and aircraft data from Infinite Flight (local network only)

When you use Live Connected Mode, the App connects to Infinite Flight running on another device on the same local Wi-Fi network using the Infinite Flight Connect API v2 over a direct TCP connection. Over this local connection the App reads your simulated flight data — for example aircraft position, altitude, heading, speed, vertical speed, ground state, flight phase, and your filed flight plan (departure, destination, route fixes, and procedures).

This is simulated flight data from a video game, not your real-world location or travel data. It is exchanged only between your devices on your local network and is never sent to us or to any internet server, with one exception you control: while you have Web Remote Mode turned on, the App sends a subset of it (callsign, aircraft type, airports, simulated position and altitude, and the flight plan's fixes) through our relay to the browser you paired, as described in Section 3.14. The relay forwards it in memory and does not store it.

3.2 Microphone and speech recognition (push-to-talk)

The App offers an optional push-to-talk feature so you can speak ATC readbacks and requests instead of tapping buttons. It is off until you use it. When you hold the push-to-talk control, the App captures microphone audio and uses the platform's speech recognizer to transcribe it into text, which is then matched to an action by deterministic, on-device keyword rules. There is no AI or large language model involved.

The microphone is used only while you actively hold push-to-talk. The microphone permission is requested at runtime the first time you use the feature, with a plain-language explanation, and you can decline or revoke it at any time — in iOS Settings, or in Android Settings → Apps → IFATC Companion → Permissions. The App remains fully usable with button-based input.

3.3 Weather data requests (internet)

The Weather features fetch aviation weather (METAR, TAF, PIREP, and SIGMET reports) from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center public service at aviationweather.gov. These requests require no API key and no account. To request relevant reports, the App includes airport/station identifiers and, for route weather, route-related parameters derived from your simulated flight plan.

To display precipitation on the weather map, the App may also request radar and satellite precipitation imagery for the map area you are viewing from the following public services:

3.4 Real-world ATIS (D-ATIS) requests (internet)

The ATC features can play the current real-world ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) for your departure and arrival airports. When you tune ATIS, the App fetches the airport's FAA Digital ATIS (D-ATIS) text from the free, public, keyless community endpoint at datis.clowd.io (built and maintained by the vATIS project and sourced from the FAA's SWIM system). This request requires no API key and no account.

3.5 Airport surface data (OpenStreetMap / Overpass) (internet)

The taxi map, taxi routing, and runway-crossing features use airport movement-surface geometry (runways, taxiways, holding positions, gates, and aprons) derived from OpenStreetMap (OSM). The App fetches a small, airport-sized extract for the active airport from a public Overpass API endpoint (overpass-api.de, with overpass.kumi.systems as a failover). These requests require no API key and no account.

3.6 Maps

3.7 Text-to-speech

Spoken ATC and pilot calls are generated on your device: with Apple's AVSpeechSynthesizer iOS, and with the Android TextToSpeech engine selected in your device settings Android. The App sends nothing to the developer through this feature. The Android text-to-speech engine is a system component supplied by your device or by an engine you have installed; if that engine performs any network synthesis, it does so under its own provider's policy and outside the App's control. Voices can be chosen, and speech disabled, in the App's settings.

3.8 SimBrief flight planning (opened in your own browser)

The App can open SimBrief (a Navigraph service) so you can build a flight plan and load it into Infinite Flight. SimBrief is opened in your own browser session — an in-app Safari view (SFSafariViewController) iOS or an Android Custom Tab Android — not in an embedded web view controlled by the App.

3.9 En-route sector boundaries (bundled, no network)

Center hand-offs use ARTCC / FIR / UIR boundaries adapted from the VATSIM VATSpy Data Project (CC BY-SA 4.0). This dataset is bundled inside the App and involves no network request and no data of yours. Sector frequencies used in the simulated conversation are themselves simulated.

3.10 Purchases, subscriptions, and entitlements

Mock Mode is free. Live Connected Mode is unlocked by an optional monthly subscription, annual subscription, or one-time lifetime purchase. Purchases are handled entirely by the platform store:

3.11 Notifications, background audio, and keeping the screen awake

3.12 Settings and on-device storage

Your preferences and in-progress session data are stored locally on your device — in iOS UserDefaults and app-private files iOS, and in Jetpack DataStore and app-private files and caches Android — and are not transmitted to us. This includes, for example:

This data remains on your device, can be cleared from within the App (for example by resetting app data or clearing a flight), and is removed when you uninstall the App.

3.13 Backup and device transfer Android

If you have Android backup enabled for your device, the operating system may copy a limited, explicitly allow-listed set of the App's files to your own Google account or to a new device during device transfer: settings and preferences, saved flights, and custom phraseology profiles. Everything else is excluded — including the cached Play entitlement, the weather and airport-surface caches, and the diagnostics log. This backup is between you, your device, and Google under the Google Privacy Policy; the developer has no access to it. You can disable backup for the App in Android Settings.

3.14 Web Remote Mode and the Web Remote dashboard (optional; our relay)

Web Remote Mode lets you work the App's radio from a web browser — on a computer, a Chromebook or another tablet — while Infinite Flight keeps the screen of the device the App runs on. It is off by default, requires Live Connected Mode access, is turned on only by you in Settings → Infinite Flight Connection → Web Remote Mode, and is not remembered: every launch of the App starts with it off. All ATC decisions, all audio, and your purchase stay on the phone or tablet; the browser only displays what the App publishes and sends your button presses back.

Pairing works through a relay operated by the developer at web.ifatccompanion.com. When you turn the mode on, the App opens a session on the relay and shows a six-character, one-time code; you type that code into the dashboard in your browser to connect the two.

What the App sends to the relay, only while the mode is on

The App sends no audio, no microphone data, no Apple or Google purchase information, no email address, no name, no advertising or device identifier, and no files. Whether you have Live access is checked on the device and never sent.

What the relay keeps

The Web Remote dashboard in your browser

Security and hosting

Turning Web Remote Mode off — in the App's Settings, or with Stop on the Android notification — ends the session at once and deletes it from the relay.

Use of the Web Remote is also governed by the IFATC Companion Web Remote Terms of Use.

4. Permissions the App requests, and why

Platform Permission Why it is needed Optional?
Android RECORD_AUDIO Push-to-talk speech recognition, only while you hold the control. No audio is recorded to a file or transmitted by the App. Yes — requested at first use; the App works fully with buttons
Android INTERNET, ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE HTTPS requests to the public weather, ATIS, imagery, and OpenStreetMap services, and — only while you have Web Remote Mode on — to the Web Remote relay; detecting whether you are online or on a metered connection. No (install-time)
Android ACCESS_WIFI_STATE, CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE, LOCAL_NETWORK_ACCESS Finding and connecting to Infinite Flight on your own Wi-Fi network. No location permission is declared or requested. No (install-time) / prompted for local network access
Android POST_NOTIFICATIONS The required visible notification for the active-flight foreground service. Yes — you can decline
Android FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PLAYBACK, WAKE_LOCK, MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS Keeping ATC audio playing and the simulated session alive while the App is in the background. No (install-time)
iOS Microphone, Speech Recognition Push-to-talk transcription, preferring on-device recognition. Yes — the App works fully with buttons
iOS Local Network Discovering and connecting to Infinite Flight on your Wi-Fi network. Required only for Live Connected Mode

Neither app requests location, contacts, calendar, photos, files, health, SMS, call logs, or camera access, and neither reads an advertising identifier, the Android ID, IMEI, or build serial. Web Remote Mode needs no additional permission. The Web Remote dashboard asks your browser for no permissions at all.

5. When data leaves your device — summary table

Activity Where it goes What is shared Goes to the developer?
Infinite Flight Connect (Live Connected Mode) Another device on your local Wi-Fi network (not the internet) Simulated flight/aircraft state, flight plan No
Aviation weather NOAA Aviation Weather Center (aviationweather.gov) over the internet Airport/station identifiers and simulated route parameters; IP/request metadata No
Precipitation radar / satellite imagery NOAA / U.S. National Weather Service (mapservices.weather.noaa.gov) or NASA Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) over the internet — and, if the EUMETNET OPERA source is re-enabled, the anonymous public ORD cache at s3.waw3-1.cloudferro.com Only the map area (bounding box) being displayed; IP/request metadata No
Route-map satellite underlay (Android) NASA GIBS over the internet Only the map area (bounding box) around your route; IP/request metadata No
Real-world ATIS (D-ATIS) Public D-ATIS service (datis.clowd.io) over the internet Airport identifier only; IP/request metadata No
Airport surface data (taxi map/routing) Public OpenStreetMap Overpass API (overpass-api.de, overpass.kumi.systems) over the internet Only a small airport bounding box; IP/request metadata No
Speech recognition (only where on-device recognition is unavailable) Apple Speech services (iOS) or the recognition service installed on your Android device (often Google's) Microphone audio for transcription, handled by that platform provider No
Purchases and entitlement checks Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play Billing (Android) Your store account's purchase status, handled by Apple or Google; the App sends nothing about you No
Maps (iOS) Apple MapKit services Standard map-tile/region requests, handled by Apple No
Opening SimBrief SimBrief (Navigraph), in your own browser session Whatever you yourself do on that site; the App reads nothing from it No
Web Remote Mode (only while you have it on) The developer's Web Remote relay (web.ifatccompanion.com, hosted on DigitalOcean) over HTTPS / secure WebSockets, then on to the browser you paired App platform and version; simulated flight state (callsign, aircraft type, airports, simulated position and altitude, ATC wording, route fixes, taxi route, ATIS/METAR text) and available buttons; your browser's button presses back. No audio, purchase data, or device identifiers Passes through our relay in memory only, to reach your browser; never stored or logged
Web Remote dashboard maps (in your browser) NASA GIBS, NOAA / NWS radar, and the OpenStreetMap Overpass API, fetched directly by your browser Only the map area or airport bounding box being drawn; IP/request metadata No
Android backup / device transfer (if you enable it) Your own Google account or your new device Settings, saved flights, and phraseology profiles only No
Exporting a phraseology profile or sharing a diagnostics log Wherever you choose to send the exported file Only the content you export No

6. Third-party services and integrations

The App relies on the following external or platform services. We do not share your personal information with them, and we receive no data back from them.

The App contains no third-party advertising, analytics, attribution, crash-reporting, or social-media SDKs, and no third-party software development kits that collect data. On Android, the only Google libraries used are the Play Billing Library and standard Android/Jetpack components. The Web Remote dashboard loads no third-party scripts, fonts, or trackers and sets no cookies.

7. How we use information

We do not use your personal information for any purpose of our own. On-device — and, while Web Remote Mode is on, in the relay's memory — the data described above is used solely to:

We do not sell, rent, or share personal information, we do not transfer any data to third parties for advertising or analytics, and we do not use your data for advertising or for tracking you across apps or websites.

8. Data retention and deletion

We hold no data about you. There is no account to delete and no server-side record to erase. The Web Remote relay keeps a session only in memory and deletes it when the session ends — at the latest 24 hours after it began — and it never writes flight data to disk or to its logs. The relay's operational log lines (Section 3.14) carry only a random session ID and event names, and expire with the hosting provider's standard log retention. All preferences, saved flights, profiles, session snapshots, transcripts, and caches are stored only on your device, and you control them:

If you would like confirmation about data handling, or believe any data of yours has reached us, write to [email protected] and we will respond, and delete anything we hold, within 30 days.

9. Children's privacy

The App is a flight-simulation companion intended for a general audience and is not directed to children. It is not designed for, targeted at, or primarily child-directed, and it is not enrolled in Google Play's Teacher Approved or Families programs. The App does not knowingly collect personal information from children (including from anyone under 13, or the equivalent age in your jurisdiction), and it contains no accounts, no advertising, no third-party SDKs, no social or user-generated-content features, and no external links other than the documented data sources and store pages described above. Optional purchases are made through the platform store, subject to that store's own parental controls. If you believe a child has provided personal information through any feature, please contact us so we can address it.

10. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under privacy laws such as the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), including rights to access, correct, delete, or port personal data, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal data. IFATC Companion does not sell or share personal information, and the only data that reaches a server of ours — the optional Web Remote relay — is held in memory for the length of a session and then deleted, so there is no developer-held personal data to access, correct, delete, or opt out of. You can exercise full control over the App's on-device data using the deletion steps in Section 8. If you have questions about your rights, contact us using the details below.

11. Security

The App minimizes privacy risk by design: it keeps data on your device, uses local-network connections for Infinite Flight, and relies on the platform's protections for app-private storage (iOS data protection; Android app-private storage and, on Android, an allow-listed backup configuration). Every internet request the App makes uses HTTPS/TLS; on Android, cleartext traffic is blocked by the app's network security configuration. The App embeds no API keys, tokens, or credentials, because none of the services it uses require them. Connections to Infinite Flight occur on your own local network; you control that network's security. The Web Remote relay uses TLS for every connection, single-use pairing codes that expire in five minutes, random access tokens that are never logged, rate limiting, and validation of every message, as described in Section 3.14. No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure, but because we do not store your data on any server, there is no central repository of your information to be exposed.

12. International users

The App can be used worldwide. The public services it contacts are operated by their respective providers — for example NOAA and NASA (U.S. government services), the vATIS project's D-ATIS service, OpenStreetMap Overpass operators, Apple, and Google. Using these services may involve processing in the United States or other countries under those providers' own policies. If you use Web Remote Mode, the simulated flight state it carries passes through our relay in the United States (DigitalOcean App Platform) on its way to your browser; it is processed there only in memory and is not stored.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example to reflect new features, a new platform, or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and post the updated policy at this URL, which is the URL listed on both store listings. Material changes will be reflected here; your continued use of the App after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

14. Contact us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your privacy, contact: