Is Flight and Ship Tracking Legal? What to Know

In most places, looking at public flight and ship tracking websites is a common, openly practiced activity, because aircraft and ships broadcast their positions on purpose for safety. The harder legal questions are about what you do with the data: operating your own radio receiver in some countries, combining positions with personal information, and using tracking to follow, harass or expose a person.

Below you will find why aircraft and ships broadcast at all, the US privacy programs that limit what tracking sites show, the main legal frameworks in the US, EU and UK, and a practical set of responsible-use rules.

Why can anyone see aircraft and ships?

Because regulators require them to broadcast. Tracking websites mostly repackage signals that were designed to be received by anyone nearby.

Aircraft: ADS-B Out

In the US, 14 CFR 91.225 has required ADS-B Out since January 1, 2020 for aircraft in Class A, B and C airspace, in Class E airspace at and above 10,000 feet MSL over the 48 contiguous states (excluding airspace at and below 2,500 feet above the surface), within 30 nautical miles of listed major airports, and in certain other areas. In Europe, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1207/2011 requires ADS-B Out on aircraft with a maximum take-off mass above 5,700 kg or a maximum cruising true airspeed above 250 knots (EASA).

Each transmission carries the aircraft's 24-bit ICAO address plus position, altitude and velocity. The FAA states plainly that this makes identification "possible by any individual with an ADS-B receiver" (FAA ADS-B Privacy). Our explainer on how ADS-B flight tracking works covers the technical side.

Ships: AIS

Under SOLAS chapter V, the IMO requires AIS on all ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards on international voyages, cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards not on international voyages, and all passenger ships regardless of size. AIS broadcasts identity, type, position, course, speed and navigational status to other ships and to shore stations. See what is AIS ship tracking? for message types and classes.

Open the live flight map

What are the FAA LADD and PIA programs?

The US has two formal programs that let aircraft owners limit how easily their flights are tracked. They work very differently.

LADD: Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed

The LADD program implements Section 803 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. It lets aircraft owners have their flight data filtered from the FAA's System Wide Information Management (SWIM) feed, or filtered from public display by websites that participate in the program. Vendors that subscribe to FAA SWIM data are bound by a Data Access User Agreement to filter LADD participants from public display.

Owners can choose FAA Source (data limited to FAA use only) or Subscriber Level (data reaches vendors, who show it only to parties the owner authorizes). The FAA applies changes on the first Thursday of each month.

LADD governs data that flows from FAA systems to participating vendors. It does not change what an aircraft broadcasts over the air, which is why receiver-based networks can still pick up the signal. Whether a given site applies LADD filtering depends on that site's own sources and policies.

PIA: Privacy ICAO Address

The PIA program gives eligible owners an alternate, temporary ICAO address that is not assigned to them in the Civil Aircraft Registry. To qualify, an aircraft must be US-registered, 1090 MHz ADS-B equipped, use a third-party call sign, and fly in US-managed flight information regions. The FAA can still identify the aircraft and operator when needed for security requests from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security or law enforcement.

PIA reduces how quickly someone can link a broadcast to a registered owner. It does not make the aircraft invisible on trackers, because the aircraft still broadcasts its position under the alternate address.

Why some government and military aircraft appear on trackers while others do not is covered in military aircraft tracking explained.

Is flight tracking legal in the United States?

Viewing public flight tracking websites is widespread in the US, and the FAA itself acknowledges that ADS-B can be received by anyone with a receiver. Several federal laws are still relevant to how tracking data is collected and used.

• Radio communications. 47 U.S.C. § 605 restricts intercepting and divulging radio communications. The same section states that it does not apply to radio communications transmitted for the use of the general public or relating to ships, aircraft, vehicles or persons in distress. How that applies to a particular data source or use is a question for a lawyer.
• Stalking and harassment. 18 U.S.C. § 2261A makes it a federal crime to use electronic communication services or other facilities of interstate commerce to engage in a course of conduct that places someone under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate them, when the conduct causes or would be expected to cause fear or substantial emotional distress. Many states have their own stalking and harassment laws.
• Terms of service. Tracking sites set their own rules on scraping, redistribution and commercial use. Breaking them can have contractual consequences even when the underlying data is public.

None of this is a definitive answer for your situation. It shows why "the data is public" is the start of the analysis, not the end.

Is flight and ship tracking legal in the EU and UK?

Europe adds two layers that matter for anyone collecting or publishing tracking data: data protection law and, in some countries, rules on receiving radio messages.

Data protection: GDPR and UK GDPR

The EU GDPR defines personal data as any information relating to an identified or identifiable person, and lists location data and identification numbers as examples of identifiers (GDPR Article 4). The UK GDPR uses the same definition, as the UK Information Commissioner's Office explains in its personal data guidance.

A commercial airliner's position is unlikely to identify a person on its own. A private aircraft or a small boat linked to a named owner is different: its movements can reveal where an identifiable person goes. The GDPR does not apply to processing by a person "in the course of a purely personal or household activity" (Article 2), but publishing, building databases, or doing it as part of a business can bring obligations into play.

UK radio reception rules

In the UK, section 48 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 makes it an offence, without lawful authority, to use wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information about the contents, sender or addressee of a message of which you are not an intended recipient, or to disclose such information. If you plan to run your own receiver in the UK, or to share what it picks up, check the current Ofcom guidance and take advice on how that section applies to you. Using a website is a different activity from operating a receiver, but the safest course is to understand both.

Ships and the IMO position

At its 79th session in December 2004, the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee said publishing AIS data on the web could be detrimental to the safety and security of ships and port facilities, and urged member governments, subject to their national laws, to discourage it (IMO). That statement is a policy position, not a ban, and public AIS websites have operated for many years since. It is still a useful reminder of the security concerns behind ship positions.

What counts as responsible flight and ship tracking?

Legal limits vary, but responsible-use principles are fairly consistent. These are the ones we recommend:

1. Track aircraft and ships, not people. Following a cargo ship through a chokepoint or an airliner through a storm is very different from following a named private individual.
2. Respect privacy programs. If an aircraft appears to use LADD or PIA, do not try to unmask the owner by combining other data.
3. Do not publish live positions that could endanger anyone. That includes military operations, rescue flights, aid convoys, and vessels or aircraft carrying vulnerable people.
4. Never use tracking to harass, intimidate or confront. Showing up at an arrival point, posting someone's movements to pressure them, or encouraging others to do so can be unlawful.
5. Check terms of service before scraping, redistributing or using data commercially.
6. Keep the uncertainty. Positions can be delayed, spoofed or wrong; treat them as evidence to verify, not proof.
7. Leave emergencies to the authorities. If an aircraft squawks an emergency code or a vessel appears in distress, the relevant air traffic and coast guard services are already involved.

These principles echo the wider OSINT ethics covered in what is OSINT?, and journalists will find a newsroom version in using a live map for journalism.

How GodsView approaches tracking data

GodsView AI displays aircraft positions from community ADS-B networks (OpenSky Network first, with adsb.lol and adsb.fi as fallbacks) and ships from the aisstream.io terrestrial AIS stream. The full list of feeds and update rates is on our methodology page. Military aircraft appear only as a Pro layer, from the adsb.lol military feed, and only when those aircraft are broadcasting.

You can explore the live ship tracker and the military flight tracker to see what public broadcasts look like in practice. If you are new to it, start with how to track a flight.

Open the live ship tracker

What tracking data cannot tell you

Even where tracking is lawful, the data has limits that affect how you should use it:

• Who is on board. Aircraft registration and flight ID rarely tell you the passengers, and ownership records often point to trusts, leasing companies or management firms.
• Whether it is complete. Not every aircraft broadcasts, some use privacy programs, and receiver coverage has gaps over oceans and remote land.
• Whether it is genuine. AIS can be switched off or falsified, and GPS interference can corrupt positions; see GPS jamming and spoofing explained.
• Intent. A circling aircraft or loitering ship can have many ordinary explanations.

The short version

Aircraft and ships broadcast their positions by regulatory design, and public tracking sites are widely used. In the US, the FAA's LADD and PIA programs give owners some control over what sites display. In the EU and UK, data protection law treats movement data about identifiable people as personal data, and UK radio law restricts intercepting and disclosing messages not intended for you.

The safest approach is simple: track vehicles rather than people, respect privacy programs, never use tracking to harass anyone, and ask a lawyer when your plans go beyond personal viewing. This article is not legal advice.