Privacy Policy
Information about the processing of personal data on ACARSd.org.
1. Controller
Kai-Jens Meyer
Tulpenweg 2
09456 Annaberg-Buchholz
Germany
Email: info@acarsd.org
2. Hosting and server logs
This website is hosted on a virtual server located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, by:
INLINE Internet Online Dienste GmbH
Kaiserstraße 80
76133 Karlsruhe
Germany
www.inline.de
When the website is accessed, the server processes connection data that is technically necessary to deliver the requested content. The Apache access logs record in particular the time of access, the requested address, HTTP method, response status, amount of data transferred, referrer and user agent. IP addresses are truncated before they are stored so that only the first two address blocks remain.
The logs are used to maintain secure and reliable operation, diagnose errors and protect the service against misuse. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The legitimate interest is the secure and reliable operation of this non-commercial website. Log rotation retains ten log files at a time; older files are subsequently deleted.
The hosting provider supplies the required technical services on the operator's behalf. No CDN, Cloudflare service or other reverse proxy is used.
3. Search functions and dynamic content
When database, aircraft, flight or radar searches are used, the submitted search terms are transmitted to this website's own server and processed to answer the request. For GET requests, search terms may form part of the requested URL and consequently appear in the truncated server logs. The data is not combined into user profiles and no profiling takes place. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR; the legitimate interest is providing the requested museum and research functions.
4. Technical transmissions by ACARSd and ADS-B software
Certain interfaces receive binary ACARSd transmissions and technical ADS-B data. The data processed may include the time and content of a transmission, technical information about the software or receiving device, a receiver identifier supplied by the system and, where provided, a receiver location. The transmitted content primarily concerns received aircraft contacts, such as aircraft identifiers, flight numbers, reception times, positions, altitudes and other radio or flight data.
The application does not store source IP addresses with these uploads. The information is processed to provide the technical functions and as part of the historical and technical archive. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Where a receiver identifier or location information makes it possible to identify an individual, that information is retained only for as long as necessary for technical operation or the documentary purpose. Affected persons may request a review or deletion at any time.
5. Protection against abusive API requests
One publicly accessible API temporarily uses a cryptographic hash of the IP address for rate limiting. The complete IP address is not stored in the API database. The temporary state also contains the remaining rate-limit allowance and the time of its most recent update. This processing is used exclusively to protect the server against automated misuse and excessive load. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
6. Aircraft images from Planespotters.net
Aircraft searches may display photographs supplied by Planespotters.net. This website's server queries the public Planespotters.net interface using the aircraft registration. The photographs are not stored on this server. When a photograph enters the visible area of the page, the visitor's browser retrieves the image file directly from a server used by Planespotters.net.
As a technical consequence, the external server receives information including the visitor's IP address, the time and address of the request and standard browser information. This website has no control over further processing by Planespotters.net. The provider is Thomas Noack, Kolonnenstraße 8, 10827 Berlin, Germany. Further information is available in the Planespotters.net Privacy Policy.
The integration provides a visual supplement to historical and current aircraft records. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The legitimate interest is the visual presentation of the technical museum and its aircraft research functions.
7. Contact by email
When a visitor contacts the operator by email, the sender's address, the content of the message and any other information supplied voluntarily are processed in order to respond. The email accounts are also hosted by INLINE Internet Online Dienste GmbH. Depending on the subject of the request, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) or Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Email correspondence is generally retained for three years and then deleted, unless a statutory obligation or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims requires longer retention.
8. Cookies, analytics and advertising
ACARSd.org does not itself set cookies and does not use web analytics, advertising or social-media tracking services. No user profiles are created. No consent banner is therefore used. The direct retrieval of external Planespotters.net images is additionally covered by section 6.
9. Recipients and transfers
Where necessary, recipients of personal data may include the hosting and email provider and the external image source described in section 6. No other disclosure takes place unless required by law or necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
10. Rights of data subjects
Subject to the conditions set out in the GDPR, data subjects have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and data portability. Processing based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR may be objected to on grounds relating to the data subject's particular situation. Requests may be sent to info@acarsd.org.
Data subjects also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. The competent authority is in particular:
Saxon Data Protection and Transparency Commissioner
Sächsische Datenschutz- und Transparenzbeauftragte
Postfach 11 01 32
01330 Dresden
Germany
www.datenschutz.sachsen.de
11. Version and amendments
Last updated: September 2026. This Privacy Policy will be updated if the website or the underlying processing activities change.