Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 2026
This page explains what AirplaneSpotters collects, why, and what you can do about it. We keep it short because we collect little: we don't run advertising, we don't use tracking analytics, and we don't sell data to anyone.
What we collect
When you create an account
- •Your name, username, and email address
- •Your password, stored only as a bcrypt hash — we can never read it
- •Optional profile details you choose to add: country, location, bio, website, avatar
When you upload photos
- •The photo itself, plus the aircraft, airline, airport, and date information you enter
- •Technical EXIF data read from the file: camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and capture date
EXIF is read on upload and the values above are stored with the photo. If your camera embeds GPS coordinates, we do not store them.
Automatically
- •A view record per photo, using a rotating key rather than a stored identity, so view counts aren't inflated by refreshes
- •Standard web server logs kept by our hosting provider, which include IP addresses
- •Cookies described in the section below
Cookies
We use only functional cookies. There are no advertising or analytics cookies.
- •A session cookie that keeps you signed in
- •A preference cookie remembering your light or dark theme choice
- •A verification cookie recording that you passed the anti-bot check, so you aren't asked repeatedly
Services we rely on
- •Cloudflare Turnstile — the anti-bot check on registration and first visit. Cloudflare receives your IP address and browser information to assess whether you're automated.
- •Resend — delivers our email (account confirmation, password resets, notifications). They process your email address to send those messages.
- •Hetzner — hosts the server, in Germany.
We don't share your data with anyone beyond what these services need to function, and we never sell it.
Your photos and copyright
You keep full copyright of every photo you upload. Posting here grants us permission to display your work on the site with a credit badge carrying your name — nothing more. We don't license your photos to third parties or use them commercially.
Your rights
You can view and edit your profile data any time from your profile settings. You can also ask us to send you a copy of your data, correct anything that's wrong, or delete your account entirely.
Deleting your account removes your profile and your photos. Contact us and we'll handle it — there's no waiting period and we don't ask why.
Children
This site isn't aimed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has created an account, tell us and we'll remove it.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we'll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell members directly.
Contact
For anything on this page — data requests, deletion, or questions — use the contact page or email info@airplanespotters.net.