Beacon Tools

Privacy Policy

This policy covers Local Flight by Beacon Tools. The basic rule is simple: app data stays on your device unless you choose a feature that needs the network.

Last updated: May 22, 2026 No accounts Diagnostics require consent Choices and deletion guidance available
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Quick summary

The short version.

No accounts

No advertising SDKs, no data brokers, and no cross-app or cross-site tracking.

Local by default

Your settings, API keys, board snapshots, history, and logs stay on your own machine or device unless you use relay-backed features or send a report.

  • Companion mode and LED matrix displays talk to your own Local Flight server first; phone-only mode talks directly to the hosted relay.
  • Manual reports are always your choice. Automatic crash diagnostics only run if you opt in.
  • Local Flight is an informational display aid, not a navigation, dispatch, operational-control, or safety system.
Local storage

What stays local

Flight board snapshots, settings, personal API keys, local history, logs, desktop app state, companion pairing state, and LED matrix settings are stored locally. The LAN browser UI, companion mode, and LED matrix board talk to your own Local Flight server first.

Phone-only mobile mode stores its setup mode, relay install UUID, activation token, selected airport, appearance, diagnostics choice, pinned flight, and recent movement history on the device. Phone-only history is not stored on the hosted relay.

Hosted relay

Relay-backed features

If you choose the shared relay or phone-only mobile mode, Local Flight may talk to the hosted Beacon Tools relay at https://relay.beacontools.cc for shared airport boards, relay-backed radar, activation, fair-use limits, reports, and optional cached map data.

The relay is cache-first where possible and uses configured aviation data sources for shared airport data. Bring-your-own-key installs keep their personal provider keys locally.

The relay stores only the technical metadata needed to run that shared service safely, such as random install UUIDs, hashed install fingerprints, token prefixes, usage counters, last-seen timestamps, short-lived airport interest rows, shared schedule/radar cache entries, and coarse app/platform profile fields.

The relay does not store raw IP addresses, personal API keys from your install, readable personal identifiers, local flight history, phone-only history, or local logs unless you explicitly allow diagnostic reports with sanitized logs.

Mobile and Matrix

Companion mode stores its paired server URL, companion ID, appearance, pinned flight, local profiles, and diagnostics choice on the device. Phone-only mode stores its separate relay install UUID, activation token, selected airport, appearance, pinned flight, diagnostics choice, and movement history on the device. LED matrix boards receive only display feed/config data from your Local Flight server.

VATSIM

VATSIM mode uses public virtual-network data for flight-board display. Local Flight keeps callsigns, aircraft, filed route/plan, airport/timing data, and aircraft position where useful. It intentionally avoids storing or displaying pilot names, controller names, CIDs/account IDs, server names, or other person-identifying VATSIM fields.

Diagnostics

Reports are opt-in.

Manual reports can include the title and description you write, Local Flight version, install fingerprint, operating system, Python version, configured airport/source mode, diagnostics mode, display settings, and the app area that sent the report.

Public website bug reports can include the message you write, optional reply email, product/area/version/platform fields, and optional text/log files. Uploaded logs are capped, sanitized, and embedded as excerpts rather than stored as raw attachments.

Automatic crash reports, if enabled, can include crash context, traceback, desktop/mobile screen context, and optionally a sanitized recent log excerpt. Reports are sanitized locally, forwarded through the hosted relay reporting gateway, deduplicated/rate-limited, and sent to the developer's Linear triage inbox.

Diagnostics do not intentionally include API keys, activation tokens, raw install IDs, raw IP addresses, screenshots, recordings, stored flight history, full local logs, or account data.

Email

Local Flight does not require an email address and does not collect email addresses during normal app use. If you use a Beacon Tools website contact form or email Beacon Tools directly, your optional reply email and message are handled by the relay/mailbox provider so Beacon Tools can reply to you.

Your control

Your local app data is under your control. To wipe desktop/Pi data, stop Local Flight and remove ~/.localflight/. Mobile app setup/history data can be removed by clearing the app or using its reset flows. See privacy choices for the step-by-step guide.

Third-party data sources

Only when your setup uses them.

Depending on your setup, Local Flight may communicate with AeroDataBox, AviationStack, ADS-B Exchange/RapidAPI, OpenSky, VATSIM, aviationweather.gov, OurAirports, OpenStreetMap/Overpass, public terrain tile sources, Linear for consent-based report triage, and the configured mailbox provider for website contact messages. Bring-your-own-key requests use your local provider keys. Relay-backed paths use the hosted relay and shared cache. Linear's policy is at linear.app/privacy.