Privacy Policy

How Clearance AI handles your data

Effective Date: July 19, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Clearance AI ("the App"), operated by AIVIATION LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), handles information when you use our iOS application (bundle ID app.clearanceai) and this website. Clearance AI is a non-certified, advisory in-flight copilot that listens to Air Traffic Control (ATC), transcribes it, and displays the clearances it extracts. Clearance AI is offered in the United States.

Summary: The core of Clearance AI runs on your device. Transcription and clearance extraction happen on your iPhone or iPad, and your ATC audio is processed live as you fly. Clearance AI has no account -- we never collect your name, email, or Apple ID. We do use a device identifier to measure how the app is used and to operate subscriptions. Because that identifier stays the same across sessions, Apple treats the usage data we send with it as "Linked to You," even though it identifies a device and we never learn who you are. Two things send audio off your device: (1) a setting -- on by default, which you can turn off in Settings -- that contributes recordings captured while you use the live copilot, along with related flight data including your location, to improve accuracy; and (2) an issue report you send us. Separately, when you allow location access, the App sends your location -- without any name, account, or device identifier -- to a public U.S. government weather service to look up nearby altimeter settings, and uses your location on your device to suggest nearby radio frequencies and airport taxiway layouts. We do not sell your data, show ads, or track you across other companies' apps.

1. On-Device Processing (the core app)

When you use the live copilot, the App listens to ATC audio from your headset, transcribes it, and extracts clearances entirely on your device:

The live copilot works with no internet connection. Your ATC audio is processed live as you fly and is not stored by us or transmitted -- except through the two user-controlled features described in Sections 2.3 (contribution to improve accuracy, on by default and controlled from Settings) and 2.4 (issue reports you send us).

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Device identifier and usage analytics (all users)

Clearance AI has no account system -- we collect no name, email, or Apple ID. The App uses a device identifier, stored on your device, and sends it with usage and lifecycle events (for example, app launches, onboarding progress, and paywall interactions). We use these events to understand how the app is used, to improve it, and to operate the subscription. This identifier is not your name, email, or Apple ID, and it is not an advertising identifier; it identifies a device, not a known person. Because it stays the same across sessions, App Store rules treat the data we send alongside it as "Linked to You" (see Section 5). If you also use other AIVIATION apps while signed in to iCloud, we use a separate identifier, stored in your private iCloud account, to recognize that the same person is using more than one device, for the same usage-measurement purpose. We do not use these identifiers to track you across other companies' apps or websites, and we do not collect advertising identifiers. The App does not present an App Tracking Transparency prompt because it does not track you.

2.2 Purchases

Clearance AI offers a Free tier and a paid Pro subscription. All purchases are processed by Apple through StoreKit. When you subscribe, we receive a record from Apple that your subscription is active -- including the product, plan, and billing period -- so we can unlock Pro features and measure conversions in aggregate. We do not receive your payment card or Apple ID credentials. Apple's privacy policy applies to the purchase itself.

2.3 Contribution to improve accuracy (on by default; you can opt out)

Clearance AI includes a setting, on by default, that contributes cockpit recordings so we can measure and improve the accuracy of our on-device speech and clearance-extraction models. This setting is on unless you turn it off, and you can turn it off at any time in Settings. Contribution is part of the live copilot: when you start a listening session as a Pro subscriber, the App records and contributes qualifying segments from that session unless you have turned the setting off. It records only while you are listening -- when you stop listening, recording stops with it. The App's on-screen listening indicator is visible for the entire time it is listening and recording. This section, together with the notice shown when you first set up the App, is our notice at collection for this data.

What the recordings contain. The App captures audio from your headset through your audio splitter. That audio is mixed cockpit/headset audio. It is primarily the ATC radio you hear -- which is a public radio broadcast -- but it may also contain your own transmissions and intercom or passenger speech in your cockpit. We do not represent these recordings as containing only ATC audio. If you leave this setting on, please do not use it if your cockpit conversations are private.

Which segments we upload. The App uploads only the segments it identifies on your device as controller (ATC) transmissions addressed to your own aircraft. Transmissions to other aircraft are processed on your device and discarded -- they are not uploaded to us. This on-device identification is best-effort and not guaranteed, so a contributed segment may still contain your own transmissions, intercom or passenger speech, or another aircraft's transmission that overlapped yours or ran immediately before it. To avoid clipping the start of a transmission, a segment can include a brief moment of the audio just before it began.

Your aircraft call sign is in the recordings. Because the App selects transmissions addressed to your aircraft, a contributed recording will normally contain your aircraft call sign as spoken by the controller, and the call sign will appear in the transcript we store with it. A call sign identifies an aircraft, not a person -- rented, club-owned, school, and employer aircraft are each flown by many different pilots. We do not attach your name, email, Apple ID, or the device identifier we use for analytics to a contribution, and we do not attempt to work out who was flying.

What we upload, and when. Unless you have turned the setting off, the App uploads each captured audio segment together with the on-device transcript, the extracted-clearance data, flight data for that segment, and basic technical details about the App and your device -- such as the App and operating-system version, your device model, and whether clearance extraction succeeded -- which we use to diagnose errors. These technical details are coarse and shared by many devices; they are not an identifier for you or your device. The flight data includes your device's location -- latitude and longitude, altitude, ground speed, track, accuracy, and the time -- which we use to improve extraction accuracy, and which is included only if you have granted the App location access (see Section 2.5). Uploads are deferred and happen in the background when your device is connected to Wi-Fi; contributions are not uploaded over cellular. Each contribution is tagged with a random contribution identifier. It is not tied to the device identifier we use for analytics, and it does not carry your name, email, or Apple ID. Your aircraft call sign is not attached as a separate piece of information, but it is normally spoken in the recording itself, as described above.

Flight context. Each contributed segment also carries a short description of the flight situation it was recorded in, which we use to interpret the transmission and improve extraction accuracy: the airport identifier, the radio frequency, the phase of flight, and how confident the App was in its extraction. If you have entered or imported a flight plan, we also include four items from it -- your filed altitude, your departure and destination airport identifiers, and the list of waypoints on your route. Taken together, these describe the route you intend to fly. We do not upload your full flight plan, your filed times, or your aircraft type or registration, and our systems accept only those four items and discard anything else.

Corrections you make. If the App extracts a clearance value and you change it -- an altitude, heading, frequency, squawk, runway, taxi route, or departure or arrival procedure -- we upload that correction: the value the App produced, the value you entered, and the transcript the extraction came from. We use this to measure and improve extraction accuracy. Some of these fields let you type freely, and whatever you type is uploaded as you entered it, so please do not enter personal information into them. You never correct a transcript in the App; the transcript we store is always the App's own on-device output.

How we use them. We (and our cloud provider acting on our behalf) use contributed recordings to produce reference transcriptions, to review and label accuracy, and to retrain our own on-device model. We do not sell contributed recordings, and we do not use them for advertising.

Stopping and limiting this collection. You can stop contributing at any time by turning the setting off in Settings; once it is off, the App uploads no further recordings. Contributions are tagged only with a random per-contribution identifier and are not linked to your name, account, or device, and the App does not show you a list of the contributions you have made. We therefore have no way to work out which contributions came from you. The recordings do normally contain an aircraft call sign, but a call sign identifies an aircraft rather than a person, and an aircraft that is rented, club-owned, or operated by a school or employer carries recordings from many different pilots -- so it does not tell us which contributions are yours, and we do not offer deletion of past contributions on request. We are not required to re-identify data we hold only in this unlinked form. Contributed recordings are not kept indefinitely -- they age out of our training corpus on the retention schedule in Section 6. Removing a contribution from the corpus takes it out of future model training; it does not reverse training already performed in a model version that used it. For any question about contributions, contact privacy@aiviation.dev. See Section 7.

2.4 Reporting an issue (only when you choose to)

If you use the in-app "report an issue" action, the App sends us a diagnostic report to help us fix a problem. That report includes a short segment of recent audio, the clearance shown on your scoreboard, your recent on-device transcript, your aircraft call sign, and basic device information such as your device model and operating-system version. We use issue reports only to diagnose and fix problems. This is sent only when you choose to submit a report.

2.5 Location

With your permission, the App uses your device's location to show your position and flight phase, to identify the nearest airport, and to power context suggestions -- such as nearby radio frequencies, altimeter settings, and airport taxiway layouts. The App asks for location access when you first reach the main scoreboard after completing setup (not only when you record), and you can allow or deny it then and change it later in iOS Settings. Location access is optional; if you deny it, these suggestions and the location features below are simply omitted, and no location leaves your device.

Most of these features run entirely on your device: the frequency, taxiway, and nearest-airport suggestions are computed on your device from data bundled in the App, and that location is not transmitted. Two things send location off your device, and only if you have granted location access:

We do not otherwise collect, store, or transmit your location, and we do not use it to track you.

3. Service Providers

We use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host our backend, which receives the usage-analytics events (Section 2.1), stores and processes the optional contributions (Section 2.3), and receives issue reports (Section 2.4). AWS processes and stores this data for us as our service provider. Apple processes your purchases (Section 2.2). The App's on-device speech recognition and on-device intelligence are provided by Apple's operating system and run on your device.

To provide nearby altimeter (weather) suggestions, the App also queries a public U.S. government aviation-weather service -- aviationweather.gov, operated by NOAA -- directly from your device (Section 2.5). This sends your location, with no name, account, or device identifier, to that service (though, like any internet request, it reveals your device's IP address to NOAA). NOAA is not acting on our behalf and handles the request under its own terms; we do not receive or store the location sent in these requests. We do not share your information with data brokers or advertisers.

4. How We Use Information

5. App Store Privacy Label

Clearance AI's App Store privacy label discloses the following, consistent with the App's privacy manifest:

"Linked to You," in Apple's framework, means associated with an identifier -- here, a device or cross-device identifier -- not that we know your name, email, or Apple ID. Clearance AI has no account, so we never learn who you are. We do not use any of this data to track you across other companies' apps or websites.

6. Data Retention

7. Your Choices and Rights

8. California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We collect the data described in Section 2: a device identifier and related usage events, purchase records from Apple, contributed recordings (on by default; you can opt out), the flight context and the clearance-field corrections attached to those contributions, coarse app and device diagnostic details attached to those contributions, and issue reports you send us. Contributed recordings include cockpit audio and precise geolocation, which California treats as sensitive personal information; the App also uses your precise geolocation for context suggestions and sends it, with no name, account, or device identifier, to a public weather service for nearby altimeter settings. We use contributed recordings only to measure and improve the accuracy of our on-device models; we do not sell or share this information or use it to infer characteristics about you. You can limit this collection at any time: turn the contribution setting off in Settings, and decline or turn off the App's location permission. Because Clearance AI has no account and contributions are tagged only with a random per-contribution identifier that is not linked to your identity, we have no way to work out which past contributions came from you. A contributed recording normally contains an aircraft call sign, but that identifies an aircraft rather than a person, and a shared aircraft carries recordings from many different pilots; we therefore do not offer deletion of past contributions on request, and we are not required to re-identify or collect additional data in order to do so. Turning the setting off stops any further contributions, and contributed recordings age out of our corpus within the period stated in Section 6. California residents have the right to know what we collect, to delete it, to correct it, and to opt out of sale (we do not sell). Because Clearance AI has no account and does not tie this data to your real-world identity, we honor these rights through the controls described above -- the Settings opt-out, the location permission, and the retention schedule in Section 6 -- and you can reach us for any question or request at privacy@aiviation.dev. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

9. Children's Privacy

Clearance AI is intended for pilots and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The data we do collect is never linked to a name, email, or Apple ID.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

For privacy questions or requests:

AIVIATION LLC
Privacy: privacy@aiviation.dev
Support: support@aiviation.dev