01 Information we collect
AirConnect does not ask for your name, email, phone number, or a login of any kind. Everything below is created by you, on your device, and stays there unless you choose to share it with a specific traveler you connect with.
| You provide | Why | Leaves your device? |
|---|---|---|
| Display name, travel purpose, languages, interests | Shown to travelers you choose to connect with | Only to peers you connect with, over Bluetooth |
| Flight number & date | Groups you with passengers on the same flight | A salted hash only — never the plain flight number |
| Chat messages | Talking to a connected traveler | Only to that traveler, end-to-end encrypted |
| Boarding pass photo (optional) | Auto-fills your flight number | No — scanned and discarded on-device |
02 Bluetooth & location access
AirConnect asks for two permissions, both required for the app's one core feature — finding nearby travelers:
- Bluetooth — used to discover and talk to nearby devices directly. No internet connection is needed for discovery or chat.
- Location (Android only, older versions) — Android requires this permission to scan for Bluetooth devices, a platform requirement unrelated to GPS. AirConnect does not read or store your GPS coordinates.
03 How peer-to-peer chat works
When you connect with another traveler, your devices exchange encryption keys and talk directly over Bluetooth Low Energy — the same way a wireless keyboard talks to a laptop. There is no server in the middle relaying, storing, or reading your messages.
Encryption
Messages between connected travelers are end-to-end encrypted (X25519 key exchange, ChaCha20-Poly1305). Only you and the traveler you're talking to can read them.
04 Live flight status (third-party service)
If you tap the refresh button on your flight card, AirConnect may contact a third-party flight-data provider (Aviationstack) to fetch public flight status — gate, terminal, departure/arrival times. This is the only network request AirConnect ever makes, and it only happens when you ask for it.
That request sends your flight number and date to Aviationstack; see their own privacy policy for how they handle it. The result is then shared peer-to-peer with nearby travelers on your flight, including ones without internet access, so everyone stays updated.
05 Where your data lives
Your profile, flight history, connections, and messages are stored in a local database on your device only. AirConnect has no cloud backend, no user database, and no way for us to see your data even if we wanted to.
07 Deleting your data
- Leave a flight — stops broadcasting your presence for that flight immediately; your chat history is kept so you can revisit it later.
- Block a traveler — stops all future contact from that person, handled entirely on your device.
- Uninstall the app — permanently deletes everything: profile, flights, connections, and messages. There is no account to delete separately, because none was ever created.
08 Children's privacy
AirConnect is intended for travelers aged 16 and older and is not directed at children. Because it connects you with strangers nearby, we don't recommend it for younger users, and we don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.
09 Security
Chat messages are end-to-end encrypted between connected devices. Flight identifiers are hashed with a salt before ever being broadcast, so nearby devices can match you to the right flight without ever seeing your raw flight number over the air.
10 Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we'll update the effective date above. Since AirConnect has no way to email or notify you directly, we'd encourage checking this page occasionally, particularly after app updates.