Privacy Policy DroneScout pro app

Last updated: 2026-09-30

This privacy policy explains what data the DroneScout pro app for Android and iOS ("the app") processes, why, and what your rights are. The app is developed by BlueMark Innovations BV, the data controller for the processing described here.

In short: the drones you detect, your flight history, labels, groups and notes stay on your phone. We do not ask for your name, and we do not use advertising or tracking SDKs. We only receive data when it's needed to run your subscription, or when you switch on a feature that sends data by design.

1. Data that stays on your phone

• Drone detections, flight history, drone labels, groups and notes are stored only on your device. They are removed when you uninstall the app. Exporting a flight (GPX/CSV) or sharing it is something you start yourself.
• Your location is used on your device to show your position on the map and, on Android, because the operating system requires location permission for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi scanning. It does not leave your phone, except in the two optional premium features in section 4 (External server and Network ADS-B), which require a Platinum subscription and which you switch on yourself.

2. Drone broadcast data (data about other people)

Drones with Remote ID publicly broadcast data such as a serial number, an operator registration number or ID, the drone's position, and the position of the pilot or the take-off point. The app receives these broadcasts, as any Remote ID receiver can, and displays and stores them on your phone only. They are sent elsewhere only if you enable one of the premium upload features in section 4.

3. Data we process to run the app and your subscription

Device identifiers. When the app first starts, it creates two identifiers and registers them with our server (app.dronescout.co), together with your platform (Android/iOS) and plan type:

• a random installation ID, generated by the app. It ends in @app, so it looks like an e-mail address, but it isn't one and can't receive e-mail; and
• a device ID: on Android a one-way hash (SHA-256) of the Android ID the system assigns to the app; on iOS a random identifier generated by the app.

We use these to link a subscription to your device, restore purchases, check which plan you are on, and detect abuse, such as one subscription being used on more devices than allowed or fraudulent purchases. They do not contain your name, phone number or e-mail address.

Subscriptions. You can buy a subscription in the app, through Google Play or the Apple App Store, or optionally outside the app stores on our website app.dronescout.co. In-app payments are handled entirely by Google or Apple; payments on app.dronescout.co are handled by our payment provider Stripe. In both cases we never see your full payment details. For a subscription bought on app.dronescout.co, we process the name and e-mail address of your account there, and the subscription and invoice details. To activate and verify an in-app subscription, the app sends our server the purchase token, product ID and purchase status along with the identifiers above, and our server checks them with Google or Apple.

Coupons and the DroneScout portal. If you redeem a coupon or connect a DroneScout portal account in the app, we process the code and the e-mail address, username and password you enter, to link your subscription to that account.

4. Optional premium features that send data (off by default)

These features are part of a premium (Platinum) subscription and only send data after you configure and enable them. Drone Radar, your own server and CalTopo together make up the app's External server feature; all three also receive your phone's location:

• Drone Radar (Platinum): detected drones — including the broadcast data described in section 2 — are sent to the Drone Radar service we run at app.dronescout.co, tagged with your installation ID. While the feature is enabled and the app is open, the app also sends a status signal about every 10 seconds that includes your phone's location. Drone Radar data is only visible to you; it is not shown to other users and not shared with third parties.
• Your own server (Platinum): detected drones, together with your phone's location, are sent to the server address you enter. That server is under your (or your organisation's) control, not ours.
• CalTopo (Platinum): the serial number and position of detected drones, and your phone's location, are sent to CalTopo (caltopo.com) using the connect key you enter. CalTopo's own privacy policy applies.
• Network ADS-B (Platinum): to show nearby manned aircraft, the app sends your phone's location and your random installation ID — nothing else — to an independent third-party ADS-B data provider. This only happens if you have a Platinum subscription and switch on Network ADS-B.
• Local ADS-B receiver: data from an ADS-B receiver using the GDL 90 protocol is read over your local Wi-Fi network only and does not leave your device.

5. Map providers

To display the map, the app downloads map tiles from the provider you select — OpenStreetMap, Google, HERE, Apple or Naver. Like any website, the provider receives your IP address and which map area is being loaded. Their own privacy policies apply. Offline maps (MBTiles) do not contact a map provider. Country flags shown next to zones are loaded from flagcdn.com.

6. Legal bases

• Running the app, your subscription, coupons and the features you enable: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• Keeping the service secure and working, and detecting abuse of subscriptions: our legitimate interest in a reliable app that is paid for fairly (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• Drone broadcast data uploaded through the features in section 4: our and your legitimate interest in situational awareness of drone activity, based on data that drones are legally required to broadcast publicly (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

7. How long we keep data

• Device identifiers and the purchase references linked to them (purchase token, product ID, plan): kept so that your subscription can be verified and restored, including after reinstalling the app. They are kept while your subscription is active. On the free plan, they are deleted 24 months after they were created; after a subscription ends, they are deleted 24 months after the end date. If you still use the app after that, it simply registers again. You can ask us to delete them earlier at any time (see section 10), except where tax law requires us to keep them (below). Your actual payment records are kept by Google Play, the Apple App Store or Stripe (for app.dronescout.co), under their own policies. For subscriptions bought on app.dronescout.co or activated with a coupon from a reseller or partner, we keep account and invoice records for 7 years after your subscription ends, as required by tax law. Those records include the installation ID the subscription was linked to, so for these subscriptions the installation ID is kept for the same 7 years; the other device identifiers are still removed after 24 months.
• Drone Radar data and the locations sent with the status signal: 7 days, then deleted automatically.
• Data on your phone: until you delete it or uninstall the app.

8. Where your data is stored

Our server (app.dronescout.co) is hosted by a service provider in the European Union, and the data we process stays in the EU. Data you choose to send to independent third parties — Google or Apple for in-app purchases, Stripe for payments on app.dronescout.co, your map provider, CalTopo or the network ADS-B provider — is handled under their own privacy policies. We do not sell your data.

9. Children

The app is not directed at children under 16.

10. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access, rectify and erase your personal data, to restrict or object to its processing, and to data portability. To exercise these rights, e-mail us at [email protected]. Because we don't know your name, please include your installation ID (the random code ending in @app, shown on the premium pages in the app), or the e-mail address you used for a coupon, so we can find your data.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority — in the Netherlands, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, or the authority in the EU country where you live.

11. Changes

We will update this policy when the app changes how it handles data. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.

12. Contact

BlueMark Innovations BV, Bruggenmorsweg 10, 7521ZV Enschede, the Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]