This policy explains what the PulseSDR Desktop app for Windows does with data. Questions: [email protected]. (The pulsesdr.cc website and the Android app will have their own sections when they are released.)
In short
- PulseSDR has no account, no advertising, no analytics and no telemetry. We do not collect, receive or sell any of your data.
- Radio audio, recordings, transcripts and translations are processed on your computer and never uploaded by PulseSDR. Speech recognition (Whisper) and translation (M2M100) run locally.
- Some optional features fetch public data from other services over the Internet. Those services see your IP address and the request, as described below. Setting Data mode to Offline only (Settings) turns them off.
Data kept on your computer
PulseSDR stores the following only on your computer, in your Windows user folders (%APPDATA%\PulseSDR, %LOCALAPPDATA%\PulseSDR and Documents\PulseSDR):
- Settings, including the antenna location if you enter one, favourites, scan ranges and blocked or muted channels.
- The Library: recordings, transcripts, translations and scanner history.
- Downloaded data: AI models, map tiles, the aircraft database and satellite data.
- A diagnostic log, only if you switch it on in Settings > About. It records receiver and app events, not audio or personal content, and is deleted after 7 days.
Recordings are encrypted and can only be played in PulseSDR on the computer that made them. To make a copied recording traceable, each recording contains an identifier of the recording computer (derived from Windows' machine ID), the computer's network adapter (MAC) address and an inaudible watermark in the audio. PulseSDR never sends these anywhere. They stay inside the recording file, so if you give a recording file to someone, that information goes with it.
You can delete any of this data at any time: in the app (Library), or by deleting the folders above. Uninstalling PulseSDR does not delete your recordings in Documents\PulseSDR.
Online features (optional)
Unless Data mode is set to Offline only, PulseSDR may contact these services. Each one receives your IP address and the request below, and handles it under its own privacy policy:
| Service | When | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| api.adsbdb.com | You view an aircraft on the ADS-B page | The aircraft's ICAO address and callsign (to show its route) |
| api.planespotters.net | You view an aircraft | The aircraft's ICAO address or registration (to show a photo) |
| EOX (tiles.maps.eox.at), NASA GIBS | You download or view the satellite map | Map tile coordinates |
| CelesTrak, SatNOGS DB | Satellite data is updated | A request for public orbit and transmitter data |
| Hugging Face, GitHub | You download an AI model, the aircraft database, airline names or the Zadig driver tool | A request for that file |
Links such as Flightradar24, ADS-B Exchange, MarineTraffic and VesselFinder open in your web browser only when you click them. From then on, that website's own policy applies.
Network features you set up yourself send data only to the addresses you enter: rtl_tcp (receiver over the network) and UDP audio output.
Your rights
PulseSDR does not collect personal data about you, so there is nothing for us to access, correct or delete on our side. Everything PulseSDR stores is on your own computer and under your control. If you write to us by email, we use your message and address only to answer you.
Children
PulseSDR is not aimed at children and does not knowingly collect any data from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be published on pulsesdr.cc with a new date at the top.