Confluence Air CONFLUENCE AIRSPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS · KSUS Join
PRIVACY & DATA PROTECTION

Privacy Policy

How Confluence Air collects, uses, and protects your personal data — and the rights you have over it.

Last updated: October 22, 2026  ·  Effective: June 1, 2026

Confluence Air ("we," "us," "our") is a virtual airline for flight simulation. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we protect it, and the rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, and similar data-protection laws. We are committed to handling your data lawfully, transparently, and with care.

1. Who we are

Confluence Air is a hobbyist virtual airline operating at confluenceair.com. We are not a real-world airline and are not affiliated with United Airlines or any commercial carrier. For any privacy question or request, contact us at info@confluenceair.com. This address is the data-protection point of contact for the airline.

2. What data we collect

We collect only what we need to run the virtual airline and your pilot account:

  • Account data: the username, email address, and password you provide when registering on the crew portal.
  • Pilot activity: your flight records (PIREPs), logged hours, ranks, and awards generated through our ACARS client, Stratos.
  • Profile data you choose to add: optional details such as your VATSIM ID, home airport, or a third-party API key you save to enable an integration.
  • Communications: messages you send us by email or through our Discord community.
  • Technical data: standard server logs (such as IP address and browser type) collected automatically when you visit the site, used for security and basic analytics.

3. How we use your data

We process your data to:

  • Create and manage your pilot account and crew portal access.
  • Record and display your flights, hours, ranks, and awards.
  • Operate optional integrations you enable, such as connecting your account to third-party flight-simulation services.
  • Communicate with you about the airline, events, and your account.
  • Keep the site and community secure and functioning.

4. Legal basis for processing

Under the GDPR, we rely on these legal bases: consent (which you give by registering and which you may withdraw), legitimate interest (operating the virtual airline and keeping it secure), and where applicable, performing the informal "contract" of your membership. You are never required to provide data beyond what an account needs, and optional fields are clearly optional.

5. Third-party services

We use a small number of third-party services to operate. Each has its own privacy policy, and we recommend reviewing them:

  • Stratos — our ACARS and flight-tracking client.
  • Discord — our community and communications platform.
  • SimBrief — flight planning (you use your own account).
  • VATSIM and SayIntentions.AI — air traffic control networks you may connect to. If you save an API key to enable a SayIntentions integration, we use it only to send your own flight details to your own dispatcher, and you may remove it at any time.
  • Google Analytics (Google LLC) — aggregate website-traffic and usage measurement (such as page views and approximate, city-level location). Google processes this data under its own privacy policy; we use it only to understand how the site is used.
  • Our web host — which processes server data on our behalf.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with third parties except as needed to provide these services or where required by law.

6. Data retention

We keep your account and flight data for as long as your pilot account is active. If you leave the airline or request deletion, we remove your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we must retain limited information for security or legal reasons. Anonymized or aggregated statistics (such as total airline hours flown) may be retained.

7. Your rights under GDPR

If you are in the EU, UK, or a region with comparable law, you have the right to:

  • Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification — correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Erasure — ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten").
  • Restriction — ask us to limit how we use your data.
  • Portability — receive your data in a readable, transferable format.
  • Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interest.
  • Withdraw consent — at any time, without affecting prior lawful processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@confluenceair.com. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

8. Data security

We protect your data with reasonable technical and organizational measures, including HTTPS encryption across the site and restricted access to the crew portal and admin systems. No online service can guarantee perfect security, but we take protecting your data seriously and act promptly if an issue arises.

9. Children

Our services are not directed at children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, contact us and we will remove it.

10. Cookies

We use cookies that are necessary for the site and crew portal to function, such as keeping you logged in. We also use Google Analytics, which sets cookies to measure site traffic and usage in aggregate — for example, pages viewed and approximate location. Google Analytics 4 does not store full IP addresses and does not identify you personally to us. We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not sell your data. You can opt out of Google Analytics on all sites using Google's browser add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout), or by blocking cookies in your browser.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the airline grows or as services change. The "last updated" date at the top reflects the current version, and material changes will be announced to members through Discord.

12. Contact

For any privacy question, data request, or concern, contact info@confluenceair.com. We are glad to help.