Support

Choose a saved place and radius in Contrail, then add the Contrail widget from your Home Screen’s widget gallery. On iPhone, you can also add the rectangular or inline Lock Screen widget. Use distance, direction and viewing angle to look for the aircraft. Readings refresh periodically; tap the aircraft to open it in the app.

No. The free sky widget helps identify aircraft near a saved place. A Live Activity follows one saved journey, showing its progress on the Lock Screen and supported Dynamic Islands. Starting a Live Activity requires Pro and is an iOS feature. The Home Screen widget can also show your next flight.

No. Flight Cinema replays supported historical flight tracks in a virtual 3D map. An estimated path is a reconstructed route. The improved Fly along view in the upcoming iOS 1.7.3 update is also virtual, using position reports and estimated movement between them. Neither is a camera feed from the aircraft.

The upcoming iOS 1.7.3 update includes a revised welcome guide and searchable Help. Open Settings → Help & Guides to read a topic or choose Show Welcome Guide Again. Widget instructions are also available from Settings → Widget.

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

Location access is optional. It helps center the map and configure nearby features. If you enable nearby alerts, the saved area is used to choose relevant notifications. On iOS, your logbook syncs when iCloud is available for Contrail. See the privacy policy for more information about data handling.

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. Passport imports CSV from Flighty, Flightradar24 and OpenFlights and exports an OpenFlights-compatible CSV. Other CSV files may need column mapping, including the required date and airport fields. Open Passport to import or export your history. On iOS, your logbook syncs across your devices when iCloud is available for Contrail.

With Pro, add a registration or an aircraft category to your watchlist in Discover. Contrail can notify you when activity is detected for a matching aircraft. Coverage and notification timing depend on the available position reports; a missing alert does not prove an aircraft is on the ground.

The upcoming iOS 1.7.3 update adds complete English, Norwegian Bokmål, German, Spanish and French across the app, widgets and Help. It is currently in testing, and is not the version available on the App Store. You will be able to choose the app language in iOS Settings. Android language support will follow separately. The website already offers all five languages.

Open Flights, choose Add Flight, and enter the flight number and date. Check the route before saving. You can also add a flight from its details. Saving a journey, starting a Live Activity and enabling flight alerts are separate actions; the latter two require Pro.

Aircraft positions come from live reports. Contrail estimates movement between reports for smooth tracking, and eventually holds the position when reports become too old. Coverage and delays vary. Widgets refresh periodically, so open the app for live tracking. Gates, times and other flight details depend on separate schedule and status sources.

Pro includes flight notifications, aircraft watchlists and Discover details, Flight Cinema for supported flights, and selected weather and airspace layers. On iOS it also lets you start Live Activities for your journey.

Watch the Sky widgets, basic tracking, Passport CSV import/export and emergency-squawk notifications are free. Current subscription options, local prices and any eligible trial are shown in the app before purchase.

Use the store where you purchased the subscription. On iPhone, open Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Contrail. On Android, open Google Play → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions. The store shows your renewal date and cancellation terms.

Open the Pro purchase screen and choose Restore while signed in to the store account used for your purchase. If Pro is already active, manage the existing subscription rather than buying again. Contact support if access is still missing.

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.