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Aircraft data comes from community-operated ADS-B receivers. Coverage varies by region. Urban areas and major airports typically have excellent coverage, while remote or oceanic regions may have limited visibility. Try zooming in on a major airport to verify the app is working correctly.

Aircraft markers are color-coded by their vertical movement:

• Green — Climbing
• Orange — Descending
• Yellow — Level flight
• White (dimmed) — On the ground
• Red — Emergency squawk code

No. If you grant location permission, Contrail uses it only to center the map on your position. Your location is never stored, transmitted to our servers, or shared with third parties. Location access is completely optional; you can deny it and manually navigate the map instead.

Not all aircraft broadcast ADS-B signals, and some regions lack ground-based receivers. Military aircraft, some private jets, and older aircraft may not appear. Additionally, at lower zoom levels, the app thins out aircraft to maintain performance, so zoom in to see more planes in a specific area.

Yes. My Passport supports CSV import in the OpenFlights format, plus a generic format with date, flight number, and airports. Open Settings → My Passport → Import to bring in your history. Export back to CSV at any time — your data is yours, and it never leaves your device unless you choose to share it.

Pro users can add any registration (e.g. N249CC, LN-RPL) to their watchlist. Whenever that aircraft starts broadcasting an airborne ADS-B signal anywhere in the world, you get a push notification with the route and current position. Useful for spotters following a specific airframe, or for keeping tabs on a frequently-flown private/government tail.

Contrail is available in English and Norwegian (bokmål). The app automatically follows your iPhone's language setting. More languages will be added as the user base grows in those regions.

Tap the "My Flights" tab, then tap the "+" button. Enter your flight number (e.g., SK1474 or BA283) and select the date. Contrail will find the flight and add it to your monitoring list with live status updates.

Aircraft positions are updated every few seconds from the ADS-B network, and the app interpolates positions at 30 frames per second for smooth animation. There is typically a delay of 1-5 seconds from real-world position. Flight status data (gates, delays) may have slightly longer delays depending on the data source.

Contrail's core experience — live map, flight details, search, My Flights, My Passport, ATC frequencies, aurora — is and always will be free. Pro is an optional subscription that adds power-user features:

• Discover catalog — 15,900+ notable tails (military, government, celebrity jets, historic warbirds)
• Tail watchlist with push the moment a chosen aircraft takes off
• UK Military Airspace overlay (danger areas, MATZ, restricted zones)
• Activity Corridors for OSINT-hot regions (Baltic, Black Sea, High North)
• Push on My Flights — gate changes, delays, landings, baggage, cancellations
• Emergency squawk push (7500 / 7600 / 7700) worldwide or in a chosen radius
• Global SIGMET / AIRMET aviation weather overlay
• Flight Cinema — cinematic 3D replays of any tracked flight

Available as a weekly or monthly subscription. The monthly tier includes a 3-day free trial.

All subscriptions are managed by Apple. Open Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions on your iPhone, tap Contrail, and choose Cancel. If you're on a free trial, cancel at least 24 hours before it ends to avoid being charged. Pro features remain available until the end of the current billing period.

Open the Pro upgrade screen in Contrail (Settings → Upgrade to Pro) and tap Restore in the top-right. Apple will re-link your existing subscription as long as you're signed in to the same Apple ID that purchased it.

No. Contrail is designed for informational and entertainment purposes only. It must not be used for navigation, flight planning, or any safety-critical purpose. Always rely on official aviation authorities and certified systems for operational decisions.