Privacy Policy

01Who we are

HeliSense is an iOS application published by Approbatics, an independent app development business based in the United Kingdom. In this policy, "we", "us", "our" and "HeliSense" refer to Approbatics.

Our registered address is:

For data protection law purposes, Approbatics is the data controller for any personal data processed in connection with HeliSense.

02Data we collect

HeliSense is designed to function without collecting personal data. We do not operate user accounts, sign-in systems, profiles, or our own analytics servers.

The limited data that does flow through the app is described below under third-party services and device permissions. Where any of that data is personal data, it is processed by the relevant third party under their own privacy policy, not by us.

Separately from the app, if you choose to join the mailing list on our website we hold the email address you give us. That is covered in full under Launch mailing list.

03Data we don't collect

To be explicit, we do not:

• Ask you to create an account, or require an email address to use the app (the launch mailing list on our website is entirely optional and separate)
• Collect your name, address, phone number or date of birth
• Track your location
• Use advertising identifiers or serve advertising
• Operate analytics, telemetry or crash reporting on our own infrastructure
• Sell or share personal data with data brokers
• Combine data about you across services

04Third-party services

RevenueCat (in-app purchases)

HeliSense uses RevenueCat to manage in-app purchases and to verify which features you have unlocked. When you make or restore a purchase, RevenueCat receives an anonymous user identifier generated on your device, along with information from Apple about the purchase (such as the product ID and purchase date). This allows the app to know which features should be unlocked, including across devices signed into the same Apple Account.

RevenueCat does not receive your name, email, Apple ID, or payment details. Apple handles the payment itself; we never see your card information. RevenueCat acts as our data processor for this purpose. Their privacy policy describes their processing in full.

Apple (App Store and platform)

Because HeliSense is distributed through the App Store, Apple processes payment and may make standard App Store analytics available to us in aggregated, non-personal form (for example, "how many devices launched the app in a given country"). We never receive identifying information about individual users from Apple. Apple's own privacy policy governs how they handle your information.

05Device permissions

HeliSense may ask iOS for permission to access certain device features. None of these send data to us.

Local network

When you use features that connect to RC equipment over Wi-Fi (for example, an ELRS Wi-Fi Joystick module, a VBar Control Touch transmitter, or similar bridging devices), iOS requires the app to declare local network use. HeliSense uses this only to communicate directly with the device on your local network. No traffic is sent back to us.

06iCloud sync

If you are signed into iCloud on your device and have iCloud Drive enabled, HeliSense can sync certain settings between your devices using your private iCloud container. This currently covers Flight Mode settings, and we intend to extend it over time to other configuration areas — including Orientation Trainer settings and setup pages for ELRS Wi-Fi Joystick, VBar Control Wi-Fi Sim and PiBridge profiles.

This data is stored in your own iCloud account and is end-to-end controlled by Apple's iCloud infrastructure. We do not have access to it, cannot read it, and cannot recover it on your behalf. You can disable HeliSense's iCloud sync at any time in Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud on your device.

07Online Flying (Multiplayer)

When you use Online Flying, HeliSense connects to our relay server (relay.helisense.app, operated on our behalf by Cloudflare, Inc.) so that you and other pilots can see each other's aircraft in a shared scene. This feature is optional — it is used only when you open Online Flying and join a room.

What we process when you fly online

• Display name — the name you choose for online play. It is shown to other pilots in the same room. Choose a name you're comfortable sharing publicly; do not use your full legal name or other sensitive personal information.
• A random session identifier — a random identifier generated on your device the first time you fly online. It is not linked to your Apple Account, email, or real-world identity, and is used only to tell pilots apart within a room and to apply your block list.
• Flight telemetry — your aircraft's position, orientation, velocity, rotor/engine state and helicopter model, streamed in real time so your helicopter can be drawn on other pilots' screens. This is gameplay data, not location data about you (it describes a virtual aircraft in a virtual scene).
• Room code — the code of the room you join or create.

How it is shared. Your display name, session identifier, helicopter model and flight telemetry are relayed to the other pilots in the same room. We use Cloudflare, Inc. as our hosting/processing provider for the relay. We do not sell your data, use it for advertising, or use it to track you across apps or websites.

Retention. The relay is built to hold as little as possible:

• Flight telemetry (your aircraft's position, orientation, velocity and rotor state) is relayed between pilots in real time and is never written to storage — it exists only for the instant it takes to pass it on.
• Your display name and session identifier are held only for the duration of your connection to a room, so your aircraft can be labelled to the other pilots, and are discarded when you leave. The only item kept in a room's temporary server-side memory is the identifier of the pilot who opened the room (to pass "host" duties along), and it is automatically deleted when the room empties.
• We do not build a profile of you and do not keep a history of your sessions, positions, or the people you fly with.
• Operational logs. Our application keeps short-lived technical logs of connections to the relay for reliability and troubleshooting. These can include the connection details (which contain your chosen display name and your random session identifier) and are retained for no more than 7 days, then automatically deleted. They are used only to operate and protect the service, never for advertising or tracking.
• Hosting provider. The relay runs on Cloudflare, Inc. As our hosting/network provider, Cloudflare additionally processes connection metadata (including IP addresses) to deliver and secure the service. Cloudflare acts as our data processor under its Data Processing Addendum, does not sell this data, and — where data is transferred internationally — relies on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum. See Cloudflare's privacy policy and DPA for details.

Your choices.

• You can change or clear your display name at any time in the Online Flying settings, or simply not use Online Flying.
• You can block any pilot, which hides them from your sessions.
• You can report a pilot to us at [email protected].

08Launch mailing list (website)

This section applies only to the optional sign-up form on helisense.app. It has nothing to do with the app: you can use HeliSense fully without ever joining the list, and joining it does not create an account.

What we collect, and why

If you submit the form, we store:

• The email address you enter — so we can tell you when HeliSense is released.
• The date and time you signed up, and the IP address you signed up from — kept as evidence that consent was given, which UK GDPR and PECR require us to be able to demonstrate.
• Which page or form the sign-up came from, so we can see what is working.

We do not ask for your name, and we do not build a profile of you. We do not use the list for advertising, we do not sell or rent it, and we will not pass it to anyone else for their own marketing.

What we send

An email when HeliSense launches, and occasional emails about significant updates to the app. That is all. Every email we send will carry a working unsubscribe link.

Lawful basis

Consent. You give it by submitting the form, and you can withdraw it at any time without giving a reason — see below.

Where the list is stored

The list is held in a Cloudflare D1 database hosted in Western Europe, on infrastructure we control. The sign-up form is protected by Cloudflare Turnstile, an anti-spam check that processes your IP address and limited browser signals to confirm you are not a bot; Turnstile does not track you across websites and is not used for advertising. Cloudflare acts as our data processor. See the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.

When we come to send the launch email, we may use a specialist email delivery provider to do so, acting as our processor under a data processing agreement. If we do, your address will be shared with that provider for the sole purpose of delivering our email to you. We will update this policy to name them before any such email is sent.

How long we keep it

Until you unsubscribe, or until the list has served its purpose and we close it — whichever comes first.

If you unsubscribe, we stop emailing you immediately and keep your address only on a suppression list — a record whose sole purpose is to make sure we cannot contact you again by mistake, for example if an older copy of the list were ever re-imported. We do not email it, and we do not use it for anything else. If you would rather we deleted your address outright instead, say so and we will; see below.

Withdrawing consent and deleting your data

Every email we send carries an unsubscribe link. Following it stops all further email straight away — there is no login, no form to fill in, and no bot check standing in your way.

You can also write to [email protected]. Ask us to unsubscribe you and we will; ask us to erase your address altogether, rather than suppress it, and we will do that instead and confirm when it is done. There is no cost, and you do not need to explain why.

09Legal basis (UK GDPR)

To the extent that we process any personal data, our lawful bases under the UK GDPR are:

• Contract — to deliver the features you have purchased through RevenueCat, to allow you to restore those purchases, and to provide the optional Online Flying multiplayer feature under our terms with you.
• Legitimate interests — for any aggregated, non-identifying App Store analytics we receive from Apple, to understand overall app usage and improve HeliSense; and to provide a functioning Online Flying feature and keep it safe.
• Consent — to hold your email address and send you the emails described under Launch mailing list, if you chose to join it. You may withdraw this consent at any time.
• Legal obligation — to keep limited records as required by UK tax and consumer law where applicable.

Where we rely on legitimate interests — including to operate and protect Online Flying — you have the right to object to that processing. See Your rights below, or contact [email protected].

10Your rights

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and portability in relation to your personal data. The only personal data we hold ourselves is the email address of anyone who joined our launch mailing list; if you did not join it, there is in most cases nothing for us to retrieve, correct or delete. If you did, write to [email protected] and we will action your request.

If you have made a purchase and want to exercise these rights in relation to data held by RevenueCat or Apple, you can contact them directly. If you have any concerns about our handling of your data, please get in touch. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

11Children

HeliSense is rated 4+ on the App Store and is suitable for general audiences. It is not directed to or intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The app has no user accounts and does not collect personal data directly. Online Flying requires no personal information either — pilots are identified only by a self-chosen display name and a random identifier. Because the display name you choose is visible to other players, please do not include your real name or any personal information in it, and we recommend that a parent or guardian supervises a child's use of the online features.

Parents and guardians are also responsible for supervising in-app purchases through the iOS Screen Time and Family Sharing controls Apple provides. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at [email protected] and we will delete it.

12Data retention

The only personal data we retain ourselves is the launch mailing list, kept until you unsubscribe or we close the list. Purchase records held by RevenueCat and Apple are retained by them in accordance with their own policies and applicable law.

13International transfers

RevenueCat is based in the United States and may process the limited purchase metadata described above outside the UK. Such transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards, including the UK International Data Transfer Addendum and equivalent mechanisms used by RevenueCat. Apple operates global infrastructure and uses equivalent safeguards.

Our launch mailing list is stored in Western Europe. Cloudflare is a US company operating global infrastructure and relies on equivalent safeguards, including standard contractual clauses and the UK Addendum, for any processing outside the UK.

14Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example to reflect new features, new third-party services, or changes in the law. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will always show the current version. If we make material changes — such as introducing a new category of data processing — we will give reasonable prominence to that change in the app or on our website.

15Contact