This Privacy Policy explains how TEESWEB UK LTD, trading as Pilot Vault ("we", "us", "our"), collects, uses and protects your personal data when you visit thepilotvault.co.uk (the "Site"), join our waitlist or contact us, or use the Pilot Vault app and the services behind it (the "App"). We are committed to handling your data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Who we are
Pilot Vault is a personal logbook, knowledge and career platform for pilots. It is operated by TEESWEB UK LTD, a company registered in England and Wales. We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.
- Company name: TEESWEB UK LTD
- Company number: 07809440
- ICO registration number: ZC136885
- Registered address: Unit A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmunds, IP28 7DE, England
- Contact: hello@thepilotvault.co.uk
The short version
On the Site, we collect only what you give us through the waitlist and contact forms. In the App, we store the flights you log, the identity details needed to run your account, and the community content you choose to post — nothing more. We don't run analytics or crash-reporting SDKs, we don't use advertising identifiers or tracking cookies, and we don't sell your data. App sign-in is passwordless (a one-time code by email); we never store a password. You can delete your App account and all of its data at any time from Settings, no email required.
What we collect on the Site
When you use a form on the Site we may collect:
- Your name (where provided on the contact form);
- Your email address (waitlist sign-ups and contact form);
- Your message (where you send us one via the contact form);
- A date and time stamp recorded automatically when you submit a form.
We do not knowingly collect special-category data, and we ask that you do not include sensitive personal information in free-text messages.
What we collect in the App
Account & identity
- Email address — used solely to sign you in via a one-time code (OTP) sent by email. We never store a password.
- Username, display name — optional, chosen by you; visible to other pilots if you use community/social features.
- Profile details — home base airport, career stage, licences held, type ratings, region, favourite airports, and whether your profile is flagged as a captain profile. All optional, all editable by you.
Your logbook (flight data)
The core of the App: for each flight you log, we store the date, departure/arrival airports, block/off/on times, aircraft type and registration, your role and logged capacity (PIC/SIC/dual/etc.), landings, night/instrument time, any personal notes you add, and — if you use the crew feature — the names of people you flew with. Simulator sessions are stored the same way, flagged separately from real flights.
Location
When you log a new flight, the App can use your device's current location on-device only to suggest the nearest airport as a starting point. Your raw coordinates are never sent to or stored on our servers — only the airport you end up selecting is saved, exactly as if you'd typed it in yourself. You can decline the location permission and enter airports manually with no loss of functionality.
Community content
If you post a note about an airport, or mark another pilot's note as helpful, that content (and your username) is visible to other users of the App. Following another pilot creates a connection visible to both of you under your sharing settings.
Sharing preferences
Pilot Vault gives you field-level control over what other pilots can see about you (rank/role, base airport, aircraft type, flight routes, flight date/times, block times) — each is off by default for anything sensitive and adjustable in Settings. These preferences are enforced on our servers, not just hidden in the App.
Session data
Once signed in, your device holds a session token in iOS's secure, encrypted on-device storage (Keychain) — not in plain app storage, and not accessible to other apps.
What we don't collect
- No advertising identifiers (IDFA or similar) and no ad network SDKs.
- No third-party analytics or crash-reporting SDKs.
- No payment or financial information (Pilot Vault has no in-app purchases today).
- No photo uploads today — aircraft photos shown in the App are fetched live from the public Planespotters API by aircraft registration; we don't store copies, and no personal data about you is sent in that request.
- No biometric data leaves your device — Face ID / Touch ID, if you enable it, is handled entirely by iOS to unlock the App locally; Pilot Vault never receives or stores any biometric data.
How we use your data
- To add you to our early-access waitlist and send occasional progress updates;
- To respond to enquiries you send through the contact form;
- To understand interest in the product and improve the Site;
- To provide the App's core service: storing and displaying your logbook, computing your flying statistics and achievements, and powering the community/airport features you choose to use;
- To sign you in to the App (sending OTP codes by email) and to respond if you contact support.
We do not use your data for advertising, and we do not build advertising profiles.
Lawful basis
For the Site, we rely on your consent when you join the waitlist or opt in to updates, and on our legitimate interests (responding to you and developing our product) when you contact us directly. You can withdraw consent at any time.
For the App, processing your account and logbook data is necessary to perform our contract with you (providing the service you signed up for). Where processing isn't strictly necessary for the core service (e.g. optional profile fields), we rely on your consent, given by entering that information.
Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with data brokers or advertisers. We use a small number of service providers ("processors") to run Pilot Vault — including the Site's hosting provider — and only share data where required to operate the service or by law. None of them may use your data for their own purposes.
| Provider | Purpose | Data involved | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resend (operated by Plus Five Five, Inc.) | Delivering Site form submissions and App sign-in (OTP) emails | Your email address; form messages you send via the Site | United States |
| MongoDB Atlas | App database hosting | All App account/logbook data described above | EU (Ireland) |
| Render | App backend API hosting | All App account/logbook data, in transit and in server memory | EU (Frankfurt) |
| Planespotters (planespotters.net) | Public aircraft photo lookup | Aircraft registration only — not linked to your identity | N/A (public API, no account data sent) |
International transfers
Your App logbook and account data is hosted within the EU (database in Ireland, backend API in Frankfurt) — both EU/EEA locations, which the UK recognises as providing an adequate level of protection, so no additional safeguard is required for that data.
Emails — both Site form deliveries and App sign-in codes — are sent via Resend, a United States-based provider. This involves transferring your email address (and, for the contact form, your message) to the US for the sole purpose of delivering that email. Resend states it takes reasonable steps to ensure adequate controls are in place for international transfers of personal data.
Retention
We keep waitlist and contact details only as long as necessary for the purposes above, and remove them when they are no longer needed or upon your request.
We keep your App account and logbook data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account (Settings → Danger Zone → Delete account), we permanently and immediately remove: your flights, import history, export history, reminders, community notes and votes, follow connections, crew profiles, aircraft hangar entries, checklist items, recorded milestones, achievement records, and any pending sign-in codes tied to your email. This is irreversible — we do not retain a backup copy of deleted account data beyond routine, time-limited infrastructure backups.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you;
- Correct inaccurate data — most App fields are editable directly in the App;
- Erase your data — self-serve and in-App at any time for your account, or on request for Site data;
- Restrict or object to our processing;
- Withdraw consent and unsubscribe at any time;
- Receive a copy of your data in a portable format;
- Complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk if you believe we've mishandled your data.
To exercise any of these rights beyond what's available in-App, contact us at hello@thepilotvault.co.uk.
Cookies
The Site does not set advertising or tracking cookies. Any cookies used are strictly necessary for the Site to function. The App is a native application and does not use cookies.
Children's privacy
Pilot Vault is intended for pilots and student pilots and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we'll remove it.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) between the Site, the App and our servers. App sign-in is passwordless — there is no password to be stolen or leaked. Session tokens are stored in iOS's encrypted secure storage. Access to production data is limited to what's needed to operate the service.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "last updated" date above reflects the most recent revision, and for material changes affecting the App we will, where appropriate, notify you in the App.